


Truth Or Dare

by Nayona



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eventual mpreg, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Modern Royalty, The Author Regrets Everything, Time Skips, no beta the author writes it sleep deprived, no goldfish were harmed while writing this story, nor were the penguins, the rating may change later so be aware
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 28,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nayona/pseuds/Nayona
Summary: The modern royalty omegaverse nobody asked for, in which Pallas dares Damen to slide into Laurent's dms and drunk Damen thinks it's a good idea.The author writes it in the middle of the night and has no idea where this story is going. Good luck xD
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 170
Kudos: 196





	1. Damen, no!

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of 3 days worth conversation about omegaverse stories in Capri fandom on Discord.  
> If anyone is confused what the hell is going on in ToD - don't worry, so am I xD

"Another one!"

"Pass me the bottle!" 

"Who ate my burrito? Reveal yourself!"

Damen laughed loudly, hearing Nikandros' accusations. He was almost entirely sure he had already eaten said burrito and forgot about it in the midst of the party. Well, to be completely honest, it wasn't a _party_ party, for there were only four of them. But they were celebrating, eating, drinking and singing old Britney Spears songs. Damen was grateful he didn't have any neighbors because he wasn't prepared for explaining to the police that it was just Nik singing Toxic and nobody was in fact getting murdered.

He leaned back on the couch and drew his eyes over his best friends. The other three men occupied every available flat pieces of furniture in the room, save for the table. Aktis and Nikandros claimed both armchairs and while Nik sat quite ordinarily (if you ignored the fact that he was squirming in every direction in search of his burrito), only the lower half of Aktis' body, the only beta among them, rested on the cushion, the rest having slid down to the floor some time ago. Pallas moved the pouf closer to the table and currently stuffed his face with some Doritos. His usually tidy living room resembled one of those abandoned houses homeless people tend to take over after they make sure nobody lives there anymore - empty food containers were scattered all over the place, bottles of alcohol arranged in a pyramid on the glass coffee table ("It's not going to fall, dude, it's steadier than any of your previous relationships."), dirty dishes lying in random places on the floor. The maid was bound to have a heart attack the next day and Damen was sure he's going to feel bad for her but right now everything was perfect.

"Gentlemen!" Damen raised his glass, spilling some beer onto his pants. He didn't notice. "One more toast to all of you. If it wasn't for your support and help, we wouldn't have secured the new trade agreement with Patras as fast as we did. To you, boys!"

They cheered and downed their drinks. Damen was happy in this moment, he wouldn't change a thing. His head was pleasantly light, he was with his favorite people. There was nothing that could make this evening better.

"Don't be shy, Damen." Aktis outstretched his hand which was holding the glass with a silent request and Nik poured him another drink. "You worked your attractive ass off to get this shit done, give yourself some credit, man."

Pallas nodded his head which made him away slightly in his seat. "He's right, dont discredit yourself so much, you-- wait a damn minute. Aktis!" The alpha turned to said man, pushing a bag of chips off the table. "Did you just call Damen's ass sexy?"

"Hell yeah I did!"

"Last time I checked you were straight."

"I'm allowed to make an objective observation."

"Those are too smart words for drunk people. Stop talking in smart language." Pallas slapped Aktis' arm. The man pulled away and grabbed himself where his friend struck him, pretending it hurt more than it did.

"Hit him baby one more tiiime~" Nikandros yelled towards the ceiling. The others ignored him.

"No but seriously, Damen. Your ass is damn hot." Aktis shot him a look that was supposed to be serious but only made him look like he was about to get crossed eyes. "Why the fuck don't you have anyone to fuck?"

"He likes to date people he fucks and his choices tend to fuck him over more times he gets to their pants, remember?" Nik said as a matter of fact.

Damen only sighed. There was no point telling them to drop it. They were far too drunk to care for his protests. And it's not like they were wrong. He truly was unlucky when it came to his love life. It wouldn't be a surprise if he died alone with a bunch of cats, his life loveless.

"I'm taking a break from dating, I told you guys." Damen reminded them and opened himself a new beer. He wasn't sure whether it was his sixth or seventh. He lost count.

"But isn't your loneliness killing you?" Aktis hummed.

Nikandros glared at him. "Don't you dare disrespect Britney like this, she's a queen!"

"I thought Egeria was your queen."

"ALRIGHT!" Pallas put his glass down with a bang and Damen tried to make himself remember to check for a dent in the table. "What you need to do, my bro, is something spontaneous. And not about dating. Oh, I know." Pallas' eyes glowed in dimmed light. "Let's play a game!"

It was as if someone cast a spell on them. Aktis sat straight in his armchair, his head not on the floor anymore, Nikandros forgot about the offence towards Britney and Damen lowered his drink, intrigued. Usually Pallas was the more quiet, tamer one in their little friend group. It was exciting to see him take initiative, even if he had to be intoxicated for that.

"What kind of game?"

Pallas' smile was ominous. "Alright, Damianos. Truth or dare?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, how old are you?" Nik groaned. "Damen surely won't…"

"Dare."

Aktis cheered.

"Brave. That's good, our alpha crown prince needs to be brave!"

"What's my dare?" 

Pallas scratched his head and narrowed his eyes in an attempt to make his swimming in alcohol brain less drunk. Then he perked up, excited. "I know! Slide into a famous person's dms!"

He didn't listen to Nik's whining ("That's boring, you're boring, why am I friends with you?") and stuck his hand between the couch's cushions to retrieve his phone. He brushed off the dirt and suspicious looking bread crumbs and unlocked the screen.

"Who do you want me to message?" he asked.

"Can't be someone _too famous_ , you know." said the beta, contemplating. "We should pick someone that might actually respond to him and that's not going to happen with someone like Leonardo DiCaprio or Benedict Cumberbatch."

"Ben is too busy for Damen." Pallas nodded in agreement. "Who was that guy…" he snapped his fingers and looked at Aktis for assistance. "At the peace summit last month? The young one? He gave a speech on penguins."

Suddenly it was as if every ounce of alcohol evaporated from Nikandros' body, leaving him sober, alert and very concerned.

"No… Absolutely not! Damen's not sliding into prince's of Vere dms!"

"The prince of Vere was there?" Aktis looked between his friends with wide and slightly glassy eyes. He couldn't go to this year's summit in Bazal with them because of prior commitment and he wanted to know _everything_ that had happened there. "Which one?"

"The younger one." said Damen. "Laurent."

"What was he like?"

Damen shrugged. "We came late due to traffic so I only had time for a short hello before his speech and he left shortly after."

"So you have a perfect excuse to message him!"

"No, he's not!"

Aktis raised his eyebrows at Nikandros. "Why are you so against it? They're both princes, there's nothing wrong in wanting to contact one another…Oooh." he stopped when Nik basically shoved his phone into Aktis' face after typing something furiously. "Damn, he's really pretty."

"Exactly. He's blond, has blue eyes, gives a damn about global warming and is sharper than a butcher's knife. Damen's not messaging him, end of story."

"Bullshit." Pallas snorted. "Do it, Damen. I dare you to slide into prince Laurent's dms."

"Damen, no." Nik glared daggers at his best friend.

"Damen, yes." Pallas and Aktis crossed their fingers and looked at him expectantly.

Damen glanced between Nik's tense face, Pallas' and Aktis' hopeful ones and his phone.

He didn't know much about the young prince of Vere. Only that he's about 22, very beautiful and apparently smart enough to be asked to give a speech instead of some old rusty university alpha professor. He was either a beta or… No, he corrected himself. Damen remembered talking to Vere's crown prince, Auguste, at the summit and he mentioned his brother was an omega. That was for the most part everything he could recall about Laurent with his clouded brain.

"Damen, _no."_

"Damen, yes." Damen laughed and opened Instagram.

He quickly found the blond's account. Fortunately for him it was verified, he wasn't in the right state of mind to dig through countless fan accounts. And damn, there were _a lot_ of them.

It took an unspeakable amount of self-restraint not to scroll through the pictures, especially after seeing a cute puppy in the most recent one. Instead he tapped the message icon. Damen stared at the blank space for a few long moments, trying to come up with something smart to type and forgetting what he was even trying to do at least three times in the meantime. At last he started typing, words flowing effortlessly. He read through the message to find and correct any typos because hey, he wasn't about to make himself look like an idiot in the eyes of a foreign royalty. 

Then he pressed 'send' and turned his phone to Pallas.

"Did I win?"

Pallas snorted and shook his head. "Nope. He needs to read it for you to win. You get extra points if he responds."

"What do I get if he does respond?"

"An answer to your lame ass pick up line."

"What the fuck did you send to the Veretian prince?" Nik gritted his teeth and for a split second Damen thought his best friend was about to force choke him.

"Nothing bad, I swear! The guys can confirm." he glanced down at the screen and pouted. "He doesn't respond…"

A pillow landed on his face, the impact strong enough for Damen's intoxicated body to lose balance.

"It's fucking three in the morning, you piece of shit, he's probably asleep."

"Alright, that makes sense." Damen mumbled into the beige leather of his couch. As soon as he landed in a horizontal position, he felt tired. Getting up was not an option, he decided. The king should make it illegal.

"You should go to bed too. All of you!"

"Yes, mom." He heard Aktis stand up and bump into something. A breakable something.

It wasn't important. Nothing was more important than drifting off.

The last thought in Damen's head before he fell asleep was the dare he was about to win in several hours. 

***

Seven in the morning was an ungodly hour to get out of bed, especially in Arles where it was always a bit chilly at this time of the day. Nonetheless, Laurent sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes to wake himself up. He reached out to grab his phone from its place at the nightstand. After turning off the alarm, the omega scrolled through his social media for a while. It was like his ritual. Every morning, he would check his phone for messages and updates from all around the world.

He opened the messages on Instagram. There were, as usual, a lot of them from people he didn't know. Laurent glanced at some. From time to time he would respond to some kids. It made him feel good that a simple reply from him made someone's day better and it was a nice publicity for the royal family. He was about to close the app when a certain username caught his attention.

Why on earth would Akielon crown prince message him in the middle of the night? The two barely shook hands a few times over the years, they didn't even follow each other online.

Ultimately curiosity won and he opened the message.

"What the fuck…" Laurent frowned.

_Hi!_

_Sorry for the late hour, hope I don't wake u up :(((_

_We didn't get to talk in Bazal and I wanted you to know I really liked your speech on penguins. We do have penguins at zoo in Ios, if u wanna check up on them sometime to see if they're ok and have enough ice cream I'd be down for that._

_Sleep well <3333333 _

_Damen xoxo_


	2. A d!ck pic...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly so surprised so many people liked the first chapter! This is 100% self-indulgent fic I'm writing with basically no outline xD I'm still not sure what's happening in this story. Let's find out together.  
> Special thanks to Discord squad who keeps encouraging me to write this chaotic shit show.  
> Enjoy!

Laurent has always had a system.

He would wake up early enough to lie in bed for another half an hour, scrolling through his feed and waiting for his brain to fully leave the dream land. Then he would get out of the bed, cursing every ancestor whose name he could recall for placing the capitol so far north it was too damn cold every morning (and yes, even in summer). After dressing up in clothes chosen the previous day - which were always colour coordinated and highlighting his best features, unlike his brother who requires assistance on a daily basis with his wardrobe - Laurent would brush his hair and make sure it looked as if the finest hair stylist took care of it (it always looked this way). Then Laurent could leave his bedroom, casting one last full of longing gaze towards the bed. And no, it wasn't because of that fake news about omegas and their nests. Laurent just liked his materace, soft pillows and the overall comfort of the bed.

Lazar once told him he wouldn't be surprised if Laurent turned out to be a lizard person, as attracted to warmth as he was.

The point is, it took Laurent approximately an hour to leave his room after waking up but he's always left it fully conscious, alert and as sharp as ever.

This particular day was an exception to the rule, as Laurent sat down at the kitchen table, feeling as if he was sleepwalking, the message from earlier still fresh in his mind.

What on the good ol' polluted earth was that? Has this even happened or was this just a dream? Laurent checked his phone. No, it wasn't a dream. But he tends to have very realistic dreams from time to time, especially after a tiring day - and he did have to fire a staff member the day before, that fucking son of a bitch - so it wouldn't be surprising if he didn't realize at first he was dreaming. Laurent pinched himself. It hurt. He checked Instagram again. The odd message was there. Laurent read it again, grimacing.

Who the fuck slides into other people's dms in the middle of the night to write something like this? How old was this guy? And who decided to make this overgrown, alpha resembling five year old a crown prince?

Laurent decided Akielos must have been desperate at some point.

A crown prince should be mature, educated, sophisticated, compassionate, responsible and level-headed! Just like Auguste, his own big brother and Veretian heir to the throne.

"Good morning, baby bro, how did you sleep?" Asked said brother after he sat next to Laurent, who had to repress a heavy sigh, seeing Auguste's breakfast.

Well, a crown prince probably should know better than to add ketchup to his cereal but hey, nobody's perfect.

Laurent grabbed a slice of bread, deciding he was in a mood for a sandwich.

"Surprisingly well, considering yesterday's shit show."

Auguste watched his brother spread some strawberry jam over the bread and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, I was surprised when he walked out of the office in one piece. I was sure you'd eat him alive."

"I have an exquisite taste." Laurent replied, putting a piece of cheese on the jam. "And he was garbage. I don't put garbage in my mouth."

"Enough of that, I'm not going to discuss former employees over breakfast. Have you seen that TikTok video I sent you last night?"

"No. I was going to but I got distracted."

"By what?"

Laurent hesitated. Should he tell his brother about the strange message from Damianos? He was aware that Auguste knew the man, at least better than Laurent himself, so it was possible the older man could provide a sensible explanation. On the other hand, Auguste tended to be protective as fuck over his little brother. Not only was he ten years older than Laurent, but he was also an alpha bound by the promise he had made to their dying mother that he would protect Laurent from harm. And Auguste took his promises very,  _ very _ seriously.

For the most part the omega liked it. He thought it wholesome and adorable. Though at times it became tiring, especially as he grew older and was no longer a child.

So the question was - would Auguste be chill with Damianos sliding into his little brother's dms at 3am or would he steal the codes to the Veretian nuclear weapon and start a war?

After a quick calculation, Laurent came to the conclusion the second option was very likely to happen.

He decided to take his chances anyways.

"I woke up to an, err, odd private message on Instagram. From Damianos of Akielos."

Auguste frowned. "Odd how?" Then he smirked, something evil shone in his eyes. "Did he send you a dick pic?"

Laurent spit his tea all over the table. Auguste only laughed and patted his back as he coughed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He rasped, shooting daggers at his brother. "Don't say things like that when I'm mid sip!"

Auguste only laughed harder. "Sorry, sorry. But did he?"

"No, he didn't, thank God." He muttered, wiping the tea off the table with a napkin.

"I thought you'd be disappointed he didn't send you one. I still remember how fascinated you were during wrestling matches at the Olympics two years ago."

Laurent felt the blush creeping on his face and covered it with the half empty mug. He remembered that competition and what had happened after. Not at the stadium but back at the hotel in the evening. Two years passed and he was still embarrassed.

"Damianos didn't compete so I don't see your point."

"With his physique he might as well become an athlete." Auguste shrugged. "So if it wasn't a dick pic, then what?"

Laurent sighed and put down the mug. He should've known his brother wouldn't let it go.

"I honestly have no idea what that was supposed to be. He said he liked my speech on global warming from last month's summit."

"The one about penguins? I liked it."

"Why does everyone remember only the penguins?" Laurent threw his hands in the air. "There was so much more in that speech, not only the bloody penguins."

"At least people remembered it at all. Do you know what was Audin's speech on? Because I don't." Auguste pointed out while literally pointing a butter knife at Laurent. The butter slowly slipped down and on his fingers. It looked disgusting and not in oddly satisfying way some disgusting things looked. "Your penguins are memorable and you should be proud even Akielon crown prince thinks of them."

"A month later? At three in the morning?"

The alpha took a napkin and wiped the butter from his hands and pants. Luckily, at 32 years old he knew better than to wear good pants at breakfast. "Maybe the penguins came to him in his dreams."

"That's disturbing."

"I think it's nice."

They sat in a comfortable silence, each busy with his breakfast and watching the news on TV. Apparently someone stole a few llamas from the royal garden in Vask and put them in their living room. Laurent was appalled. Vaskian security should get fired. But he also couldn't understand why someone who owned a living room big enough to hold seven llamas felt the need to steal them, when they could easily afford to buy some themselves.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Auguste said and turned to face his brother. Laurent contemplated whether he should inform him of the ketchup under his nose but ultimately he decided not to. He wanted to see how long it would take Auguste to notice it on his own. Laurent bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud at the thought of Auguste attending a meeting with their father and the council with ketchup on his face. Laurent was a fully functioning, responsible adult but he couldn't and wouldn't refuse himself this simple pleasure.

"We're going to attend a festival in Akielos soon."

Laurent raised his eyes from the ketchup and raised his eyebrows at the Alpha.

"How soon and why am I informed of it now?"

"I don't know, sometime next month?" Auguste blew his nose, wiping the ketchup off in the process. The disappointment Laurent felt in that moment was severe. "I forgot to tell you earlier. I can't remember every irrelevant thing, you know, I'm not a walking computer like  _ somebody _ ."

If Auguste believed international relations with Akielos to be irrelevant, then Vere should be happy the omega prince decided to spend his life as his brother's advisor. It could as well as save the country from ruin.

"Is there something you need me to help you with?"

"Yes! I need someone to get in touch with the palace in Ios and ask them how many people we can bring and what's the dress code."

"Don't you have people for that?"

Auguste sighed dramatically. "I do but then Guion's assistant broke his knee while writing the email, the poor thing, and now everyone is scared there's some kind of curse. The only one brave enough in the whole Arles is you, dear brother."

Laurent had no idea the palace was full of superstitious assholes. His hands itched to get someone fired for being dumb.

The alpha suddenly snapped his fingers at Laurent and smiled. "I know! You can ask Damianos directly!"

"Why in the ever loving fuck would I do that?"

"You're already talking to him so…"

"I'm not talking to him, "The omega interrupted with exasperation in his voice. "He just messaged me in the middle of the night about penguins."

"Have you replied?"

"No, I haven't."

"So you have an excuse! Listen, "Auguste grabbed his brother by his shoulders. "All you need to do is thank him for the penguin message and say 'hey, by the way, we're coming to your festival next month, blah blah blah'. You ask him, he replies, we know what's up, nobody gets cursed anymore…"

"So you're fine with me getting cursed instead of one of dad's minions?" Laurent snorted.

"Honestly? I think the curse would be afraid of you."

The omega felt oddly proud at the thought of some ominous force backing down with fear at the sight of him. It made him feel as if he was a Sith master and the curse some weak minded Jedi. Laurent knew he would look good in a black robe.

"So?" Auguste's voice pulled him out of his Dark Side of the Force fantasy and back into reality. "Are you going to ask?"

"Fine." Laurent only agreed because he knew his brother wouldn't leave him alone otherwise.

That's why after he came back to his room and brushed his teeth, Laurent opened Instagram and messaged the prince of Akielos back.

_ Good morning. _

_ I'm convinced Akielon penguins have just the right amount of ice cream provided, which is none at all, I hope, as it would make their stomachs hurt. I'm sure as the crown prince you must know that. I do appreciate the thought behind your message though and I'm glad I was able to make at least one person care about the wildlife and the speech wasn't an absolute waste of my voice. _

_ Speaking of visiting Akielos, would you mind telling me how big the party from Vere should be and if there is any dress code for the festival next month we need to be aware of? _

_ Have a nice day, _

_ Prince Laurent of Vere _

Laurent pressed 'send' and put his phone down. He couldn't believe his own brother made him reply to that man. Damianos of Akielos didn't leave a good impression during the few times they met. To be honest, every 'meeting' was very brief, too brief to allow them to have any sort of conversation. Usually they would greet each other, pose for a picture or two and spend the rest of their time at the opposite sides of the room, Damianos with some model or other celebrity - mostly pale blondes - on his arm, which made walking up to him less tempting than if he was by himself. 

He remembered one time they were at that fundraiser on New Year's Eve and Damianos drank champagne with Taylor Swift. Laurent couldn't care less if it was a date - it most likely wasn't - but it made him want to ignore the foreign crown prince so much easier.

Now he didn't need to befriend him either. After getting the information he required, Laurent would close the chat and never open it again. It's not like he was expected to make friends with the alpha. That was Auguste's job as the fellow heir to the throne.

Laurent grabbed his bag and went to his office, convinced that beside the reply about the festival, he would never hear from Damianos again.


	3. Would you like to meet Eddie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all over the place but this whole story is, so xDD  
> Enjoy!

Damen woke up and immediately cursed his friends and himself for wanting to stargaze last night (as if they could see any stars in the middle of the city) and leaving the blinds open in the process. At this moment he regretted every single decision their whole group made during the last 24 hours.

He felt awful. As if he would die. Every move, even the tiniest flex of muscles, hurt like hell. His throat burned as if he swallowed sandpaper and flushed it down with acid, aka this shit called griva Makedon made in his basement and forced the whole palace to drink at every holiday and birthday parties. Damen couldn’t open his eyes - they hurt and seemed glued together. He raised a hand and briefly touched his eyelids, sensing some sort of sticky substance and for a split second he wondered if they left the windows open and a bird defecated on his face. The noise was the worst thing Damen had to face. Unfortunately, in the modern times it was illegal even for the crown prince to behead his subjects for bashing pots like a madman in his exalted presence. The throbbing pain in his skull made Damen briefly consider going to jail for murder.

He was not to be messed with that morning.

He was in pain.

He was dangerous.

He suffered the worst thing people in their twenties could possibly suffer.

Damianos was hungover.

“Whoever is smashing things in my kitchen,” he rasped, the sandpaper-like feeling in the throat magnifying, “can consider himself blacklisted from the fucking country!”

“Sorry, I’m trying to make us some breakfast!” Pallas replied.

“Why is your fridge basically empty?” Aktis yelled and more noise reached Damen’s ears. His alpha growled and demanded blood to be spilled. “There’s some butter, milk, a few eggs and a ham that’s about to grow limbs and run away.”

“Because I fucking order from Uber Eats like a normal person!”

After some more time, he was finally able to open his eyes. Trying to avoid the sun, Damen picked up his phone and scrolled through the notifications mindlessly.

That is, until he came across one notification he didn’t expect.

Why did the Veretian prince DM him on Instagram?

Damen didn’t know him well. One could say he was friends with the Veretian crown prince, Auguste. Well, they were friendly, that’s for sure. Auguste and him texted from time to time, catching up with whatever the other prince was up to (Damen was still in awe that Auguste managed to come back to the hotel unscathed after a one night stand with that Vaskian woman a few months ago, these girls were _wild_ ) and exchanged postcards every Christmas.

The younger prince, the omega one, was a completely different story. They were barely acquainted. Hungover aside, he couldn’t think of a single reason why prince Laurent would message him. And on Instagram for that matter!

He opened the chat.

Oh.

_OH._

Everything came back to him.

Fucking Pallas, fucking alkohol, fucking Nikandros who kept saying _Damen, no_ as if he didn’t know that was enough for sober Damen to consider doing something (and for drunk Damen to do it without thinking about the possible consequences, example provided on the screen).

But as Damen read through Laurent’s message, he sighed with relief. He didn’t make such a big idiot of himself as he feared. Then he scrolled up and read his own message, which started all of this.

He was never going to drink again. Not with his phone around.

“Yo, Pallas!”

The man exited the kitchen and stood by his head. Damen outstretched his hand and showed him the screen.

“I completed your dare.”

“Really?” Pallas took the phone and snorted. “I can’t believe he replied.”

“Who replied?” asked Aktis.

“Prince Laurent.”

There was a loud _thump_ somewhere on the other side of the table. Nikandros found the strength to lift himself from the floor and sat up, his eyes red and a pillow mark all over his saliva covered cheek.

“Don’t you fucking dare talk to him, Damianos!”

“I kinda have to, Nik.” Damen shrugged. “He asked me about some festival stuff.”

“Then tell him what Arles needs to know and forget about it.”

“I don’t know, Nik, the prince lowkey gave Damen an opening to flirt with him.” Aktis smiled deviously when his own prince perked up, hungover forgotten.

“He did?” He read through the omega’s message once again, looking for the opening his friend talked about.

“I’m sure he didn’t.” Said Nikandros with a disapproving look in his eyes. “That Veretian snake is a cast iron bitch who apparently never dates and apart from press smiles, he never really smiles in public. He wouldn’t flirt with you on purpose, I can promise you that.”

Pallas laughed and slapped Nik on the back, the gesture almost sending the man face first onto the table sticky with alcohol and chips.

“Are you into the omega prince yourself, Nik, that you keep discouraging Damen? Or, “Pallas added, theatrically putting a finger on his chin, “are you maybe his stalker? You seem to know a lot about prince Laurent’s love life for someone who’s not interested in him.”

Nikandros sputtered and Damen almost laughed at how red his best friend’s face became.

“I most certainly am not into snakes, thank you very much. I just see he’s blond and pale and Damen’s fucking weak…”

“Excuse _you,_ mister ‘I’ll sleep with every green eyed woman I come across in Patras’…”

Damen tuned out their friends’ banter and quickly texted the office at the palace about the Veretian delegation’s question. It made him excited for the festival. Although Akielos was warmer than other countries, especially in the south, the early months of the year still seemed gray and dull. That’s why having the festival happen in March was such a good idea. It cheered everyone up.

After receiving the response from the office, he opened the chat with prince Laurent of Vere.

  
  


_From: Damianos_

_February 14, 10:32am_

_Good morning!_

_I’m very pleased to know that our festival is of personal interest to members of the Veretian royal family. The palace will be prepared for a delegation of max 20, your security excluded (the accommodations will be provided for everyone, don’t worry). Looking forward to sharing our culture with you and your delegation!_

_I’m very sorry about the late night message. I can assure you, I don’t tend to slide into people’s DMs like this. I’m a gentleman._

Damen pressed send and put down his phone. At second thought he picked it up again and typed another message.

_And I do know penguins don’t eat ice cream. I’m educated and not a child._

He locked the phone, expecting it to be the end of his conversation with prince Laurent.

Oh, how wrong he was.

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_February 14, 2:12pm_

_Thank you for your quick response. I’ll forward this information to my palace. I would say to expect further questions from them but they seem content with me handling the situation, so if anything you’ll be hearing from me again._

_I should hope you’re educated, as you’re the future head of the neighbouring country. About the gentleman thing - I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt._

_Have a nice day._

Of course, Damen couldn’t leave it unanswered.

_From: Damianos_

_February 14, 10:06pm_

_With all due respect, Your Highness, we don’t know each other well enough for you to tell whether I’m a gentleman or not. Have we had an opportunity, you would not be doubting me right now._

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_February 15, 12:30pm_

_It’s hard to get acquainted with someone when they’re more concerned with hitting on some celebrities at every gala or arriving late at important events than actually doing what they’re supposed to do at said events. Other than that, I’m sure you’re very professional._

Damen furrowed his brows. If this was any other person, he would have thought he was being teased.

He wasn’t teasing him, was he?

_From: Damianos_

_February 16, 0:12am_

_We’re living in the age of social media. It is important that every royal family maintains a good public opinion, and good publicity from celebrities contributes to this._

_From: Laurent_

_February 16, 9:24am_

_I don’t think boring to death one of the most known female singers of this generation over some lame appetizers is the way to ensure a good publicity for the palace, but you do you, Prince Damianos._

_Taylor says hi btw._

When Damen went to Twitter later that evening he found out that Taylor Swift had, in fact, lowkey shaded his taste in appetizers on Twitter a while ago, causing a shit ton of people to have a good laugh at his expense. Damen didn’t understand what was the problem, all that tiny food was ADORABLE and so easy to eat.

At least he had contributed to making people happy. He decided to consider it a win.

The two princes went back and forth like this, exchanging poor concealed jabs at the other one's lifestyle, views on what it meant to be a prince and overall life choices.

  
  


_From: Damianos_

_February 20, 9:00am_

_I’ve heard you don’t really smile at foreign dignitaries but damn, your expression during this interview with the Kemptian prince i just watched? The poor guy looked as if his balls were about to fall off, he was so stressed._

_Will you look at me this way when we meet next month too? I feel like I should be emotionally and mentally prepared._

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_February 20, 12:03pm_

_Most likely yes, unless you give me a reason to honor you with my real smile._

  
  


_From: Damianos_

_February 20, 3:14pm_

_Challenge accepted._

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_February 20, 4:10pm_

_Good luck with that._

  
  


Their messages became more frequent and the intervals between them shorter, to Nikandros’ despair. Damen’s best friend looked as if he was witnessing his prince’s downfall. Damianos thought he was being dramatic. Aktis and Pallas thought it was hilarious and they even made some bets, although Damen didn’t care to ask for details.

Him and the Veretian prince also changed the topic of their conversation from princely matters to… it was hard to say what they were talking about.

The shift began when Damianos sent him a photo of the adorable kitten he had found in the alley next to the palace in Ios. Laurent, who turned out to be a bloody competitive bastard, returned the favor by responding with a photo of a puppy from the shelter he had helped find a new home that day. 

_From: Damianos_

_February 25, 7:15pm_

_Oh come on, Laurent, look at it’s little face! The whiskers! Imagine how cute this cat will be when it’s grown!_

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_February 25, 7:16pm_

_I see all of that and I approve. I love cats very much but dogs have much more appeal to me. They can be trained, taken on a run with you and when you call them they actually give a shit and come to you._

_And those ears, Damianos. Look at the pointy ears. And the head tilt!_

And this is how Damen found out about Laurent’s soft side. Wondering what else could be hidden under the blond omega’s icy exterior, he decided to push further and be sneaky.

Next time he tried asking Laurent a personal question, he sent him a cute dog photo a few minutes before. It worked wonders.

_From: Laurent_

_March 1, 8:05am_

_It’s unnecessary to keep printing books. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing better that the feeling of pages under my fingers and the smell of a freshly printed book is heavenly and very calming. But I care more about the quality of air I’m breathing than this small comfort. People tend to buy Kindles and download ebooks or audiobooks anyways, and there’s so much recyclable paper, so why do we keep cutting down forests?_

Eventually they began exchanging their thoughts on more personal matters.

_From: Damianos_

_March 9, 9:15pm_

_I know how everyone says being an alpha is a privilege and I can’t argue with that but sometimes I wish there wasn’t so much pressure to be a ‘proper alpha’, you know? Like, I have a stamp collection I have kept since I was ten. And my beloved pet is a goldfish. His name is Eddie and whenever I put my hand in the aquarium, he lays on my fingers and lets me pet him. My dad and brother make fun of me because those things are not ‘manly’ or ‘alpha’ enough._

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_March 9, 9:21pm_

_I get what you’re saying. It's the twenty-first century and people are still so fixated on gender roles, both genders. Only yesterday a council member asked me if there’s any alpha I’m interested in and when I said no, he mentioned his nephew. I barely turned twenty-one, for fuck’s sake._

_From: Damianos_

_March 9, 9:22pm_

_What an asshole. Point him out to me at the festival and I’ll throw him in the ocean for you._

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_March 9, 9:23pm_

_That’s very nice of you. I’d offer to do the same to your father and brother but I’m sure we’d be at war if I did that. I could throw them those icy glares everyone seems to be afraid of, if you want me to._

  
  


_From: Damianos_

_March 9, 9:23pm_

_Thanks for the offer :) And for not making fun of my fish._

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_March 9, 9:23pm_

_I would like to meet Eddie the Goldfish very much. He sounds nice._

  
  


Damen wasn’t sure if they were flirting or not. He was sure though that after almost a month of constant texting, he liked the omega prince of Vere quite a lot.

He knew Nikandros wouldn’t approve but he wanted to introduce Laurent to his fish and he never introduced anyone to Eddie, not even his closest friends.

Damen had a feeling Laurent would appreciate Eddie as much as he does and he wasn’t one to ignore his instinct.


	4. Make a 'friend', Laurent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're finally meeting! Yaaay :D  
> I hope you like this chapter!  
> Have fun!

The thing is, Laurent has always been a person of impeccable self-control. There was little that could throw him off balance. He had a list of anything that could get an unwanted emotional response out of him. The list consisting of:

  * his dear older brother, Auguste, saying something sappy to Laurent (EVERY. SINGLE. FUCKING. BIRTHDAY. Laurent should gag his brother next time, his birthday speeches - not wishes, _speeches_ \- were the worst)
  * something bad happening to Auguste (like when Auguste sent him a photo of his broken leg in a cast while Laurent was in a Vaskian lesson; Laurent was sixteen at the time, and his class gossiped for the rest of the semester that his pale face was the most facial expressions they had ever witnessed on the younger prince’s face. It remained that way to this day.)
  * his mother’s death, aka the only time the press witnessed him looking less than perfect (he was twelve, for fuck’s sake, he was allowed to cry and people of Vere didn’t have issues with the child prince standing in front of the camera with puffy eyes… well, they _did say_ he shouldn’t be expected to show up at all until he was ok but there were no complaints regarding him crying during those days.)
  * animals getting hurt (there was a reason why he’d seen _‘I am legend’_ only twice - once for both endings)
  * children getting hurt (luckily he had no story to this one, he just hated the idea after finding out about orphanages and foster care system)
  * puppy videos and tiny fluffy animals in general made him happy and fuzzy inside
  * ...animals. Simply animals.
  * _DON’T GET HIM STARTED ON GLOBAL WARMING, OH MY GOD--_



Well. The list of reasons why Laurent could possibly lose his shit a little in front of other people was rather short. He liked it this way, for it helped him keep a hold on himself (and his self control was amazing, there was once this journalist who asked him to his face if he really was as frigid as everyone said he was and Laurent kept his cool. To his great satisfaction, someone informed him later that the jerk only realized the prince insulted him after somebody explained it to him three months later.) Truly, the poker face of the omega prince of Vere was legendary.

He also prided himself in, as mentioned earlier, not being an overly emotional person. This trait of his made many people employed at the palace wonder if he really was an omega. Has it not been for the heats, nobody would think of him as anything else but a beta.

Breaking gender roles was a favourite past time activity he often indulged in, loving seeing people squirm.

Having said all of those, it made Laurent feel odd to be excited about a visit to a foreign country, and uncomfortable as well, because some people on the delegation definitely noticed. 

And by ‘some people’ he meant Auguste.

“You fine, little brother?”

For the past half an hour they spent in the car which was taking them from the airport to the palace in Ios, Laurent kept looking out the window, pretending to be admiring the scenery. He did try to do so, he really did, but even the surprisingly spring looking landscape couldn’t distract Laurent from the unwanted thoughts buzzing annoyingly in his mind. 

He looked at the already slightly green trees. Maybe the climate here wasn’t so surprising to the locals, but for him there was still snow sometimes in March up in the north of Vere. Not so much anymore because a lot of people were continuingly insisting global warming was a hoax, these morons, didn’t they see the glaciers melting…?! But no, let’s be fucking idiots and keep burning coal what could possibly go wrong?

...alright, so Laurent could distract himself a bit after all.

He sighed and turned to look at his brother. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” Auguste mussed, his brows furrowed as he eyed the omega worriedy, “You just seem… anxious?”

Laurent almost laughed at him. Some part of him was proud he managed to control himself enough to fool Auguste enough for him to misjudge. The other part was aware the older man could have attributed his expression to uncertainty because he had so seldom seen Laurent excited, other options hadn't even occurred to him. This thought was sad so he pushed it out of his mind.

“I’m alright, Auguste, I really am,” he reassured him with a soft, private smile.

The alpha relaxed his shoulders a bit and returned the smile. “I know you dislike talking to officials…”

“Only when I’m not allowed to insult their low IQs,” Laurent smirked and Auguste laughed at the interruption.

“We don’t go there to cause an international scandal, little brother,” he said, and added after a beat, “But this time it won’t be some stiff, boring meeting, but a festival. And you’ll know people there.”

“Beside our own delegation?” the omega raised his eyebrow but Auguste’s smile only broadened.

“Yeah, you know the Akielon crown prince, don’t you?” Something squeezed inside Laurent’s stomach. Could it be sudden motion sickness? “You could spend some time with him!”

Laurent glanced briefly outside the window and noticed there were less and less trees and more white buildings and wider roads. There was no traffic as of yet, they were advised to fly down to Akielon capital as early as possible to avoid getting stuck in the city.

“And why would I want to do that?” The problem was that Laurent did want to but he’d rather throw himself to the wolves than admit it to Auguste.

“One of us has to.” 

“If anything it should be you, you’re the crown prince,” Laurent pointed out, “so you should go and bond with the other crown prince. As future kings of neighboring countries are expected to.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “I already know and like him fine. You on the other hand haven’t talked to him as of yet, at least not in person. Besides,” he added, “if I’m not mistaken, dad told you not that long ago to start working on your own international ties. It’s a good opportunity for you to do just that. And you’re the prince, you can’t ignore other royals forever, it looks bad.”

Laurent pursed his lips. He didn’t necessarily want to be rude to foreign royals but Auguste had kept him shielded for as long as he could and when Laurent finally began attending events, most of the nobles, business men and a big chunk of the royals were either plain disrespectful to him (as if him being a good looking omega ruled out his intellect) or gave him chills. Sometimes both.

To be fair, most of these men were much older so the bigotry was to be expected. And the younger prince never talked much with his own generation, deep down he wanted to but he just didn’t know… how.

As if he could read his mind, Auguste pulled him closer and said softly, “I would feel better if you made some friends, Laurie, and you seemed to tolerate Damianos enough to exchange messages for the whole month.”

When some time later the car stopped in the driveway to the palace, the brothers got out and Auguste motioned towards the group by the entrance. “Here’s your chance, don’t waste it!”

Laurent narrowed his eyes at his brother and stared daggers at him - just for a good measure - and then turned towards the entrance.

The brothers waited for the rest of their delegation to leave their vehicles and then they went up to the Akielons together.

The whole royal family waited for them at the stairs. It wasn’t exactly necessary for the king to greet them if his sons or wife were there but it was a nice gesture. 

Auguste shook hands with king Theomedes and the princes, and kissed queen Egeria’s hand. Then Laurent said his greetings. The king and prince Kastor both kissed his hand, as was the protocol for welcoming an omega to the palace, and he bowed his head to the queen who smiled at him. Then, he turned to prince Damianos and held out his hand to the man, wondering what he would do.

Over the last few weeks they talked a lot about stereotypes and harmful traditions in regards both to omegas and alphas. Damen was on the same page with him with mostly everything and he spoke very enthusiastically about equal rights. But there was a big difference between the silence support in the privacy of Instagram DMs and acting on it in an official situation in front of several royals, including one’s own king. Especially being the alpha and the crown prince.

Damen grinned at the challenge in Laurent’s eyes. When he reached for the omega's hand and brushed his fingers, Laurent's heart skipped a beat for reasons he did not understand nor wanted to understand at the moment. 

Laurent felt the way the alpha held his palm tenderly and expected to feel Damen’s lips on his skin, but then the grasp tightened and they shook hands.

He was impressed with the other man. Pleased even.

If anything, Damen just proved he was honest during their conversations. Good to know he was genuine.

“Welcome to Ios, your highness.” said Damianos with a pleasant smile on his face.

“Thank you.”

He could see in the corner of his eye the surprised expression of his brother and the king. They certainly didn’t expect Damen, an alpha crown prince, to treat Laurent, an omega second prince, as he would another alpha. At least Auguste should be happy about it, he had just said he wanted Damianos to be Laurent’s friend. It was a good way to do that.

The king cleared his throat and invited their delegation inside. As they walked through the door, Damen placed himself between him and Auguste and exchanged a few pleasantries with the Veretian crown prince. 

“I’ll show you both to your rooms,” Damen informed them and gestured to the corridor on their right, “We’ll head out to the festival in two hours, that gives you plenty of time to freshen up after your trip.”

“Thank you, Damianos, we appreciate it.” Auguste smiled at the other alpha who laughed and squeezed his arm for a second.

“It’s Damen, Auguste, I told you many times to call me Damen,” they stopped in front of the door to one of the rooms assigned to them. Damen moved his gaze to Laurent and smiled warmly at him, “I’ll see you there.”

“You sure will.”

The brothers watched the Akielon disappear around the corner for a few seconds. Auguste moved towards the second door and as he grabbed the doorknob, he said, “Looks like I don’t have to worry that much about you making a friend on this trip.”

 _No_ , Laurent thought, going inside his room and going through the last several minutes in his head, analyzing the way Damen smiled at him and comparing it to the smile he gave his brother. _It probably won’t be hard for us to bond._

What surprised him a bit was that he wanted to get to know the tall, dark alpha. Now more than he did before properly meeting him.

Two hours later, they headed out of the palace. Auguste, Laurent and the rest of the Veretians stood between the Vaskian and Patran delegations, Kemptians somewhere on the side. Laurent ignored them hard, especially the Kemptian prince who kept staring at him. He knew what would be on gossip sites in an hour or two and this thought only made him decide to stay off of Twitter until the next morning.

When king Theomedes finished his speech, Auguste went to the Vaskians to say hello (they arrived a bit after they did and had no opportunity to meet before the festival) and Damianos made a beeline to him.

“Ready for the festival?” The man smiled at him.

“Didn’t expect you to be appointed as my tour guide,” he replied, making Damen laugh.

“I need to show you the best parts of the whole event so you go back to Vere with good memories of my country, and I know how hard it is to please you. Besides,” now his smile turned a bit frivolous, “I have to make sure you honor me with your real smile, not that fake press one, don’t I?” 

Suddenly the only thing Laurent could do was gape at him and the teasing tilt of his lips.

_What._

_What does he mean?_

Alpha nudged his shoulder and nodded toward the crowd. Laurent nodded, and they blended together among the celebrating citizens of Ios.

Damianos stopped at the more interesting stands, introducing Laurent to the sellers (most of them apparently already knew their Crown Prince, because they welcomed him with enthusiasm and without the typical panic resulting from suddenly finding himself in the presence of the heir to the throne), showing Omega meticulously crafted ornaments and sculptures, beautiful in its simplicity, so different from the rich ornaments of Vere. The two princes stopped at numerous street speeches, listening to talented musicians, watching lithe dancers in airy garments resembling something between a dress and a toga (if these people were not shivering from the cold, Laurent could not understand, it was the middle of MARCH) and applauded fire eaters.

Damen assured him that no, they didn't burn their throats, and no, there was no need to call an ambulance.

Laurent noticed how much time had passed only when the sun hovered just above the horizon and people around lit the lanterns, the light of which bathed the streets in a warm golden glow. It was a beautiful sight.

“Are you tired?” Laurent turned away from the view and faced Damen. His breath hitched for a second. The alpha looked amazing in the lanterns’ light. His dark skin seemed to be glowing, brown curls looked incredibly soft and the eyes, oh god--

He needed to take a hold of himself.

“A bit,” he admitted, “but it’s quite nice here…”

Damen huffed a laugh. “The festival will be here for a week, you’ll get to see everything, I’ll make sure of it.”

Laurent leaned against a column behind him. They walked far from where they started and away from other delegations. He had no idea where Auguste went, his brother hadn't contacted him in hours.

“What do you suggest?”

“Well,” suddenly Damen rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, almost shy, “We talked about me introducing you to someone two weeks ago…”

Laurent immediately knew what he was talking about. 

“Lead the way.”

***

Over the last few weeks Laurent grew used to Damianos surprising him. First it was the initial message itself, then his competence, the way he supported the equal rights movement and how shy he was when he mentioned his favorite pet. But even that sudden and unexpected vulnerability didn’t shock Laurent half as much as what Damen just did.

He stopped by the door, uncertain, “Are you sure…?”

Damen turned around and gestured to Laurent to come in, “Of course I am. Come.”

Damianos must’ve been more unusual alpha than he thought, Laurent decided. Alphas were teritorial even now, in modern times, and they didn't invite omega strangers to their bedrooms. At least not without the intention of taking them to bed.

The blond man was glad for the dim light in the room that hid a faint blush creeping on his cheeks.

Damen turned the light on and walked to the fishtank in the corner of the room.

“So…” he cleared his throat and said, glancing nervously at Laurent, “this is Eddie.”

Laurent walked up to him and looked at the goldfish. He was quite big, most likely thanks to the size of his tank he was put in. The fish swam closer to the glass, probably counting on getting some extra food. He slowly pressed a finger to the flat surface and Eddie wiggled on the other side excitedly. 

“Hello, Eddie,” Laurent said softly and Damen beside him visibly relaxed.

“Would you like to hold him?”

“Can I?”

Damen lifted the lid and put it away.

“Put your hand in the water,” he instructed Laurent, “press four fingers together and curl them a bit.”

Laurent rolled up his sleeve and did as he was asked. The water was pleasant, not too cold and not too warm.

Sure enough, within seconds Eddie closed the distance between himself and Laurent’s hand, placing himself on his fingers. Laurent ran his thumb gently over the golden-orange scales. The goldfish just lay there, letting the omega pet him.

He smiled softly and looked up, only to meet Damen’s warm gaze already on him.

“There it is,” the alpha said quietly.

“What?” Laurent too lowered his voice, afraid if he spoke louder he’d break this bubble they found themselves in.

“The real smile,” Damen’s own smile broadened, revealing a dimple in his left cheek, “it’s beautiful.”

Laurent's heart flipped oddly in his chest and sped up, bumping painfully against his ribs. His gaze moved back and forth between the dimple in the alpha's cheek and his warm brown eyes. Their color made him think of melted chocolate, warm and so very sweet.

It was Eddie who broke him out of this strange, unfamiliar state of mind, when the fish, feeling that the thumb had stopped moving so far, slipped out of Laurent's hand and swam away and in between the plants.

The omega looked away and took his arm out of the water. He wiped his hand dry on his pants and tried to make his inner omega back down. He didn’t understand why his second nature was acting out unexpectedly, making him want to melt and wrap himself in something warm like a blanket… no, not a blanket, something else…

Thankfully, Laurent had trained himself to push down his omega instincts a long time ago.

“Would you…” the blond man looked up to the alpha, who for the second time this evening looked uncertain, “Would you let me take you somewhere tomorrow?”

“Somewhere at the festival?” Laurent was grateful for the change of topic, it made it easier for him to regain control over himself.

“We were required to attend the first day only, we can come and go as we please now. But no, I mean away from the festival…”

Laurent raised his eyebrow. His heart beat faster again, this time in excitement.

“What do you mean?”

"At the very beginning, when we started messaging together," Damen swallowed, the way his body tightened indicated how nervous he was, "I mentioned the Ios Zoo."

Finally the alpha's eyes met his own, and he asked, the hint of hope in his voice, "Will you let me keep my promise and take you to see our penguins?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and supporting this story!  
> Honestly, without you I would be even more lost while writing it than I already am xD But I'm having so much fun discovering what these two idiots will do next :)  
> Btw, I did train a goldfish to do that once, I did not make this up xDD  
> I also have a second fic going. If you like a futuristic story with a some magic elements, consider checking out Written In Runes :)
> 
> Stay healthy and have a good day/night!


	5. NOT a date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank each and every one of you who read this story, I'm genuinely so surprised you like it so much.
> 
> And this week, as promised - THE PENGUIN DATE :D

_"Will you let me keep my promise and take you to see our penguins?"_

Damen knew he was an impulsive person. His dad kept telling him this every time he leaked something more or less confidential on social media. His mom too, watching his attempts in the kitchen (the reason why he ordered Uber Eats instead of cooking). His brother just would just shake his head and whenever Damen told him about the course of the conversation he had with a girl or a boy, not understanding why he had failed to get them on a date, Kastor would explain it to him in details (“No, you cannot tell someone you’re in love with them on a third date, Damen, that’s insane”). Nikandros… he didn’t need Damen to actually do something. Nik decided on a preventive tactic and tried to tell him not to be impulsive before he even got a chance to behave like an idiot (if the constant frown on his face was any indication how successful this tactic was… everyone knew how that was going for Nik).

It’s not like Damen wasn’t thinking _at all_ , you know. The alpha was in reality a very intelligent man. He was focused, skilled when it came to state matters, he knew how to talk to people and earn their trust and affection, and if Akielos went to war one day, heavens forbid, the crown prince was an excellent tactician, had some experience in the military and could lead if necessary. 

There were just moments when his brain did the Windows shutdown thing and his mouth released every unfiltered thought he had at that particular moment.

Which was why, despite the numerous red flags in his mind and little Nikandros-like angel creature on his right arm, yelling into his ear _DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE, DAMIANOS,_ he invited the second prince of Vere to the zoo. 

He couldn’t make sense of what exactly happened in his mind at that moment, or what to name all these feelings which flooded his whole body, making it warm and soft, and slightly out of balance. 

There was something about the sight of the omega next to him, tenderly holding his beloved goldfish with those long, slender digits. 

There was something about the soft expression on the blond’s face and the look of pure wonder as he stroke the orange scales gently. 

There was something about how calm the fish was the entire time it was petted. Damen knew animals were better judges of character than people and if Eddie the Goldfish decided Laurent was trustworthy, Damen wouldn’t question him.

But despite having absolute trust in Eddie, there were some things a crown prince should not do on a whim. Like inviting a foreign prince on an outing outside the festival he came to attend, for example.

The silence dragged on mercilessly and the alpha was becoming more and more agitated. He was beginning to sweat, when he heard Laurent speak, so silently he almost missed it.

“Alright.”

“What?”

One bright eyebrow shot upwards, almost disappearing between blond strands, “The zoo? Penguins? I’d like to go see them.”

“You do?” The disbelief on Damen’s face must’ve been hilarious because the corner of Laurent’s mouth twitched, as if the man was holding back a smile (Damen would love to see this smile by the way, he just realized).

“Of course I do. They’re penguins,” the omega said as if the fact was the most obvious thing in the world. It kind of was, because Damen had yet to meet a person who did _not_ like penguins.

At this very moment, Akielon crown prince decided only inherently bad people hated penguins.

“In this case, we could go earlier in the morning. To avoid the crowd.”

Even though Laurent already said he was willing to go to the zoo with him (not on a date, the alpha suddenly felt the need to consciously remind himself this was not, in fact, a date), Damen lowkey expected him to yell _‘ha, fooled you, you dumb prick!’_ and start laughing at him.

Instead, the blond nodded and agreed it was the right course of action.

Then, he looked at his watch and sighed, “I probably should go back, especially if we’re going out early.”

_They were NOT going out in THIS way. They were going out as FRIENDS, DAMIANOS. FOCUS._

He cleared his throat and gestured towards the door, “I’ll walk you to your room. It can be like a maze sometimes for visitors.”

“Yes, I noticed,” Laurent turned to the fishtank, pressed a finger to the glass - Eddie swam closer, intrigued - and muttered, “Bye, Eddie, it was nice to meet you.”

Looking at the back of the Veretian prince’s head, Damen wanted to cry and strangle Nikandros for telling him (repeatedly) that Laurent was a cold asshole. This gesture was too sweet for someone who’s an asshole. Nobody cold would say goodbye to a goldfish!

As they walked through the corridors, the two princes talked in soft, quiet voices, as not to disturb anyone who might’ve been already resting or the staff in general. They kept their conversation light, just exchanging impressions from the first day of the festival.

After some time - too short, Damen thought, and immediately wanted to slap himself for this thought - they reached the guestroom where Laurent was staying.

Laurent stood by his door and placed his hand loosely on the door handle. He looked up at Damen, “So. Eight would be fine?”

“Sounds great,” Damen smiled at the other man, “The zoo opens at nine thirty, so we could get some breakfast together? If that’s ok with you?”

The light of one of the lamps on the wall gently illuminated the omega’s face, making the delicate smile, just a slight lift of the corner of his mouth, look almost otherworldly beautiful.

“Sounds great,” Laurent opened the door and slipped inside, “Goodnight, Damen.”

If Damen noticed he reached his own room only because he walked straight into the door, nobody had to know.

When he woke up the next day, it was barely six in the morning, a full hour before his alarm was supposed to go off. He pressed his face in his pillow and groaned. There was no way he’d get any more sleep. For some reason his alpha was so restless he couldn’t rest any longer. It caused a lot of confusion to Damen’s half asleep brain. This couldn’t be about Laurent. Or, at the very least, not about Laurent being an omega. Damen has a lot of omega friends, he always had, whom he sees on a regular basis and hangs out with for hours. His alpha has never behaved this way around any of them, not even the omegas he was dating.

This had to be something else.

However, as soon as he thought of Laurent and remembered the way he held and said goodbye to Eddie, how soft his tiny smile looked in the dim light, his alpha instantly became more alert.

It wasn’t like he was interested in the blond man. Yes, Damen had a habit of falling fast for people, but he had to spend some time with them first. Like, at least a week in close proximity. Laurent and he spent one day together. It wasn’t enough.

It couldn’t be enough.

His room looked as if a tornado went through it when he finally decided on an every day red shirt, black jeans and a leather jacket. He also hoped Laurent wouldn’t notice the amount of time and work he’s put into styling his hair. It was not a deliberate action on his part, it was a bad hair day. Nothing else.

When the floor was again visible and clothes were back to where they were supposed to be (not folded as they should but there was no time left to do that and he needed to prioritize), Damen made his way down to the kitchens. There were not a lot of people inside, mostly the kitchen staff preparing the breakfast for the main dining room. He quickly spotted the omega who was sitting alone at the table by the window.

“Good morning,” he said, taking the seat at the opposite side.

Laurent shifted his eyes from the view outside to Damen. 

How did he manage to look so beautiful and dramatic, as if he was filming a melancholic scene in a music video, at eight in the morning? Damen couldn’t comprehend it.

“Good morning. What are we eating?”

They both settled for a big sandwich and a cup of coffee, Laurent’s so dark he kind of expected his heart to stop any minute and cause a military conflict between Vere and Akielos, and then headed to the garage.

The drive to the zoo was filled with casual small talk. The two mostly talked about things they already discussed while texting but it felt different to be able to hear the other person’s voice and see their face (briefly in Damen’s case, he wasn’t willing to crash the car because he wanted to look at Laurent). It was nice, very nice. He liked listening to Laurent’s voice.

But when Damen parked the car in front of the zoo, the blond went quiet.

“What?” Damen asked, confused with the sudden silence.

Laurent raised a single eyebrow, looking at him with a critical eye, “Did you just parallel park to show off?”

_Yes._

“No.”

The Veretian hummed thoughtfully and unbuckled his seatbelt. Damen quickly followed him, not willing to admit even to himself how pleased he was that his driving skills impressed the omega.

The two princes went inside the zoo. The woman at the front desk recognized them almost instantly and they had to persuade her to let them pay for the tickets. Damen would’ve also taken care of Laurent’s ticket, but the man took out his wallet first and had an aura of someone who could and would destroy your bloodline if you didn’t let him pay for himself.

It was alright. It wasn’t a date anyways.

The zoo was mostly empty, just like Damen said it would. The few individuals they came across were too taken aback with seeing their prince in person, with a supermodel-like person beside him who happened to be also a prince, to approach them and ask for a photo. He was pleased; his alpha preferred to be left alone with the blond.

“They seem well taken care of,” said Laurent. 

They stopped in front of the tiger run. The animals had a lot of space, they could run, jump on numerous fallen trunks or just lie on the grass or under the trees.

Currently the three tigers napped on a large rock and didn’t care for the two royals watching them.

“Of course they are,” Damen replied, “This is the first zoo included in the palace's special program.”

Laurent looked away from the tigers, one of which just yawned and it sent chills down Damen’s spine (it was one hell of a big jaw) and asked, “What program?”

“Wildlife rescue program. Every zoo that accepts injured animals to heal them and release them into the wild receives funding from the royal family for better equipment and better-fitting enclosures.”

“That’s admirable.”

Damen smiled. “Thank you. We worked hard on it.”

They were strolling between giant bird cages when he noticed the waffle stand. The blond man seemed rather enthusiastic about it.

“I wouldn’t say you have a sweet tooth, not after witnessing you drink that black death just a few hours ago,” he joked.

“I only drink my coffee black in the morning, when I need help waking up,” Laurent explained, “But other than that, my brother would tell you I have more sugar than coffee in my Starbucks order.”

Damen got them their waffles - this time he managed to pay for both, explaining to the omega he should let him be a hospitable host - and they sat down on a bench to let their legs rest a bit while they ate.

The alpha glanced at him out of the corner of his eye from time to time, trying not to be too obvious. Laurent eating the waffle looked too beautiful for someone who didn't do anything special except eating the waffle. It wasn't fair.

During these few moments of silence, Damen had time to analyze how he had felt over the past two hours. Even though he has always been a very social person, he rarely found such good contact with someone from the very beginning of their relationship. It was the first break in their conversation since they got into the car and the silence was not overwhelming, it was downright comfortable. When they were talking, he did not feel the need to search for topics by force - they appeared by themselves, resulted from a previously finished topic, or they appeared out of nowhere. Laurent's presence was surprisingly soothing to Damen, while engaging his alpha, making him pay attention to whatever the omega was saying and doing.

Laurent tossed the wafer paper into the trash can and turned to Damen, obviously wanting to say something, but as Omega's eyes landed on his hair, his mouth closed.

"Is that a hair gel?" He asked eventually.

Damen cleared his throat, "I had, uhm, wet hair when I lay down in the evening and my hair stuck out in all directions in the morning. Couldn’t show myself to people like that.”

The blond nodded slowly. Then, his eyes rolled slowly over Damen's body, "Nice shirt."

Never in his life has Damen been so grateful to his darker complexion.

“Oh, look, snakes,” Laurent mentioned half an hour later, motioning towards the reptile section, “Let’s go visit my kin.”

“Why would you compare yourself to a snake?”

Laurent shrugged, “Some people like to remind me I’m as cold, slippery and untrustworthy as a snake.”

Damen bit back a growl. He hated the idea of someone insulting Laurent this way. He wasn’t a snake and Damen’s alpha wanted to at least threaten every single person who had said that about the omega. His mind immediately provided him with Nikandros’ face.

He would growl at him later.

The other prince must have noticed Damen’s displeasure because he snorted, “Why? You don’t agree?”

“Absolutely not! Snake would be the last animal I would compare you to.”

“Oh? Then which one would you compare me to?”

Damen looked around and smiled when he saw something perfect and also the reason they were in the zoo in the first place.

“A penguin?” he asked incredulously, “Why?”

“Well, they look like they enjoy the cold but they have a really warm personality.”

The omega looked at him appraisingly for a few seconds, as if waiting for the proof that Damen was joking, before saying, “Or are you trying to tell me I look like a penguin when I walk?”

“If anything, I’m telling you that you look fine in a suit.”

Surprise glistened in the omega’s eyes before he moved his face away. For a split second the alpha was concerned he might’ve accidentally angered him, but then he saw his arms shake slightly and heard the tiniest but oh so gorgeous sound.

Did he just make him laugh...?

They reached the penguins. There were several of them, most splashing in the water. Laurent’s eyes wandered to two penguins standing together on the side.

“These two are Nicole and Waverly,” Damen said and Laurent looked at him, surprised.

“Are they named after…”

“The lesbian couple from _Wynonna Earp_ , yes,” he laughed, and added, “They’re hatching two abandoned eggs together. Akielos is oing to have their own lesbian penguin moms soon.”

“That’s so sweet,” the omega said silently, his eyes turning soft as he turned back to look at lesbian penguins.

As Damen observed the man, he suddenly understood all of the emotions twirling in his mind. He also understood what his alpha was trying to tell him this whole time.

He thought of Laurent’s eyes, how they shone with mirth when he said that awful penguin pickup line, how attentive they were during their conversations, how tenderly he was currently looking at Nicole and Waverly.

He recalled the tiny laugh and the way his heart fluttered at the sound.

He thought of how his golden locks looked in the dimmed light of the corridor, so soft and like a liquid gold.

Nikandros would tell him he was being impulsive once again, but he didn’t care.

Damen wanted to get to know this omega as well as he would let him.

He wanted to be the reason he smiled for as long as possible.

And he wanted it to be a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think ;p


	6. The Snapshots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short update because I felt inspired.  
> Love you all very much!

Just as Laurent expected - they made it to social media.

It might have gotten unnoticed, if it was only the first day. Ok, maybe not entirely unnoticed, there were bound to be several pictures of them posted on Twitter, they were two young and objectively attractive princes of two nations, for fuck’s sake.

But then… Yes. Then the zoo outing happened. And them hanging out for the rest of the week often enough to have three separate Buzzfeed articles written about them.

THREE. ON BUZZFEED.

There were a few more on other celebrity gossip sites but the Buzzfeed ones were getting the most attention.

The first one was titled ‘Crown Prince Damianos and the second Prince of Vere, Laurent - new fashion icons?’ and it was the one Laurent himself had no issues with. He knew he looked good in his blue-greyish coat, the color made both his golden hair and blue eyes stand out. And Damen in that jacket of his - the sleeves so tight over his arms, Laurent caught himself staring several times, waiting for the seams to pop - looked so…  _ nice _ .

The second one, ‘Unexpected friendship between Prince Damianos and Prince Laurent?’. Well, there was some truth to that, it was quite unexpected, considering this festival was the first time anyone has seen the two talk more than one sentence each to one another. But to call whatever they developed between them a friendship after only a week spent together (and a month of constant texting but Buzzfeed didn’t know about it).

Laurent was willing to let this little inaccuracy slide. The article made his brother happy ( _ ‘You made a friend, Laurie, I’m so proud of you! The whole Vere is proud of you, look at the comments!’ _ ) and the palace PR people sigh with relief that despite the lengthy conversations Laurent didn’t scare the foreign crown prince off. As if Laurent would endanger Auguste’s future rule like this. The audacity!

And he also kind of liked this particular article. The thought of being the alpha’s friend made him feel warm. He had liked spending time with the man. Damen was interesting, competent (and there was nothing the Veretian prince appreciated more in a person than competence) and funny. It was damn difficult to make Laurent laugh and the alpha managed to do that, no matter how hard Laurent tried to hide it. Damianos was also very attentive. Many people only pretended to listen to Laurent out of respect to his position but at the end of the day, they looked down on him because of his secondary gender. Damen, on the other hand, paid attention and really listened, was giving appropriate responses and was overall engaged in the conversation. It was refreshing and made him feel like he wasn’t wasting the alpha’s time.

There was also the third article and Laurent was genuinely considering calling someone at Buzzfeed to ask if the journalist had been drunk or high when they’d been typing all these words. ‘Prince Damianos taking Prince Laurent out on a penguin date? Are we about to witness the international royal romance of the decade?’.

Bullshit.

It wasn’t a date.

The friendship thing Laurent could understand but a romance? And it wasn’t even a week when the trip to the zoo took place, it was literally the next day, damn it! Did they think he was so easy?

Laurent was NOT easy. He was damn difficult to get. Laurent needed to be dined and wined and provided with a deep conversation and, ideally, cute animals before the omega would consider going out on a date with the other person (man, other man, he was very gay and not even his platonic crush on Megan Fox couldn’t change it). That was the reason why nobody has ever dated the second Veretian prince, there were too many things to do to earn a chance to get him on a date and it was too much effort for all the alphas that thought they wanted him.

...alright, while Damianos had ticked off some of these boxes, it was still NOT a date.

The omega was aware that was just a friendly outing and nothing else and promptly ignored the fuzzy feeling the article title caused and how Auguste’s displeased face made him kind of sad instead of, say, amused.

Would it be that bad if he was involved with Damianos?, Laurent wanted to ask, but quickly got rid of the unwelcome thought. They weren’t involved and won’t be.

And even if Laurent wanted them to - he DIDN’T - there was no doubt Damen would reciprocate the interest (if there was any). Damen deserved a nice, sweet and warm omega and Laurent was neither of these things.

A man like Damianos deserved better than Laurent...

Laurent struck his forehead on the desktop, trying to get rid of the recurring unwelcome thoughts.

By the time he finally focused back on the report he’s been reading, his forehead was bright red.

***

It wasn’t like things changed, but they did.

The change began gradually.

It started with more frequent texts (not on Instagram anymore, they exchanged phone numbers after the zoo). Before, they talked mostly in the evenings before going to bed, or at lunchtime.

Now, Damen would send him a message whenever he happened to have unoccupied ten seconds. Laurent did his best to respond as often as he could. It was the polite thing to do. If Auguste gave him a side eye, the younger man happily reminded him it was Auguste who wanted him to make a friend.

Then, the worst happened.

Damianos began sending him “good morning!” and “good night!” texts.

At first, Laurent didn’t know what to think of these, but there was no way for him to stop himself from smiling at these particular notifications.

Other than these new messages and the frequency of the others, everything else seemed normal. The topics of the conversations were the same, maybe from time to time a bit more personal, but it was only natural when one was getting to know another person better.

Another milestone of sorts of theirs happened a full month after the festival in Ios.

They were both invited to a fundraiser in Vask. After the short speech, the two abandoned their respective delegations and sat together. Vask was a really relaxed place, these people gave zero fucks who sat with who, as long as everyone was comfortable and had fun (and posted good things about them later online). So, Laurent and Damen ate dinner together and kept each other company.

The press loved them together, even if they only talked and ate soup.

During their short meeting in Vask, Damen convinced Laurent to download Snapchat. The blond was slightly embarrassed how little it took the crown prince to make him get the app, but the bright smile on his face was worth it.

After they went back to their countries, half of their text messages were replaced by snaps. A picture of Damen in front of some important government building. A snap of Laurent at charity. Damen sipping a coffee from Starbucks (also very sweet, the omega approved). Laurent lying down on his desk, surrounded by documents, visibly exhausted (the other prince told him to go to sleep and he couldn’t help but listen to him).

And so on.

He slowly but surely got used to the new everyday reality. He even found himself throwing glances at his phone from time to time, expecting the screen to light up any time.

And then, one day, another month later, the routine was broken.

There were no subtle glances at his phone anymore, Laurent held the smartphone in his hand, thumb hovering over Damen’s contact.

It was evening and he was an hour late with his “good night!” text.

Should he text him first? Call him? Call the palace, maybe Damen overworked himself and fainted? 

Laurent bit his lip. He was worried. So worried. It wasn’t like Damen to be a full hour late, not without a prior explanation…

He jumped in his seat when the phone pinged and the screen lit up.

There was a Snapchat notification. It took him two attempts to click it properly.

It was a video.

_ Hi! Sorry for the radio silence but, _ the man laughed and lifted his other hand in which he was holding a puppy,  _ I’ve found this little guy wandering around and I had to find his parents. Going to give him back to them now. Sleep well, Laurent! _

Oh.

OH.

The omega’s heart raced as he watched the looped video over and over again.

Maybe it was because of his previous worry, but for the first time he let himself actually think about how he felt.

How the deep voice and laugh of the alpha made his heart flutter.

How beautiful his dark eyes looked in the setting sun.

How his strong, big arms didn’t seem threatening at all, but rather kind and safe, with the small puppy held against his broad chest.

How good it felt to hear him say his name.

It was safe to say it could be the first time Laurent and his omega were in sync and agreed on something, although it took Laurent a lot longer than his second nature, he realized.

“Oh no,” he whispered, still watching the alpha holding the dog, “what do I do now?”


	7. Laurent's birthday - part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Laurent's birthday and now Damen is very aware of his growing feelings, so... he's pining.

Despite being very often a chaotic mess of a man, Damianos had a plan this time. And, if someone asked him, it was going pretty well for him so far.

Laurent wasn’t your ordinary omega, he was a damn prince of Vere and he deserved to be treated with the utmost courtesy. Even if he wasn’t a royal, Damen would treat him as such.

But he was also so much more than a fellow royal.

Laurent was otherworldly beautiful. The Akielon had seen more than enough people online weeping about his beauty to know it. Besides, he wasn’t blind (and he also wept once in the shower, so water would wipe his tears away, but nobody needed to know that).

He was also very intelligent. The man had finished university early and with honors and since then not only helped around the palace, seeing to various state matters, but also gave speeches (like the penguin one which more or less started this whole thing between them) and held fundraisers and charity parties on a regular basis. What a legend.

Despite the fact that he had a reputation of a rather cold person (to put it mildly), Laurent was incredibly kind. He had ranted about global warming and its impact on the penguins’ safety for an hour, for heavens’ sake! And he didn’t ridicule Damen for being soft for his goldfish. Everyone else who knew did. But not the prince.

Laurent holding Eddie gently, petting his scales and saying goodbye to him was an image Damen wanted to be buried with.

And the zoo (not) date, where Laurent looked so soft and content, and adorable eating his waffle, and their conversation so easy. He would’ve loved to talk to him more but he was forbidden to do so by Nikandros, who not so pleasantly reminded him he had other delegates from several countries to talk to, not only pretty blond snake-tongued omegas (for that Damen did growl at him, but Nik only glared at him, the fucker).

The tiny laugh by the lesbian penguins, which made Damen realize he wanted to go out with him for real… He needed to hear it again.

So, as mentioned previously, Laurent was not a stereotypical omega. In order to get him to agree on an actual date, Damianos needed to be patient and kind of sneaky.

This is where his plan went into effect. It consisted of several stages.

The first thing he had to do was get his phone number. It was the easiest stage on the list. He only needed to say it would be more comfortable for both of them to move on from Instagram to texts and the man was saving his number on Damen’s phone the next second. Damen sent him a dog emoji a minute later so Laurent also had his number. The omega liked dogs, Damen liked him, so why not give his crush what he liked?

The next stage was to make their contact more frequent. Here Damianos was less sure of himself. Would Laurent get bored of him if they talked more? Annoyed, because he was being interrupted more? Luckily, nothing bad happened and the blond even seemed happy with his messages. He responded every time. It had to mean something good, right?

...right?

The third stage began almost simultaneously with the second. One can’t effectively flirt with the other person if the person in question wasn’t aware you care for them in this way. Therefore, Damianos had to make sure Laurent knew he cared for him. Deeply.

And what’s a better way to communicate it than telling your crush “good morning!” and “good night!” every day?

Probably some grand gesture but he reckoned there will be time for some Titanic shit later. Maybe without the sinking ship and one of them dying, but he was absolutely going to do something Titanic themed for Laurent in the future. He wanted the omega to be his Rose to his Jack.

Anyways, that’s exactly what he did. And after they met in Vask (and spent the whole time together, which made Damen certain this man was the person we wanted to pursue a relationship with, ideally a long term one) he convinced Laurent to download Snapchat.

It was so far the best decision in his entire life, because for every snap from Damen, there was one from Laurent.

It’s been a week and he still couldn’t get over the picture of Laurent in the softest looking baby blue sweater. His alpha almost cooed at the sight, wanting to snuggle the omega (Damen could relate). He used a screen recording app so Laurent wouldn’t get a notification that Damen saved the photo.

There weren’t any more stages on the list because Damen decided the best course of action would be watching the other prince closely and reacting accordingly to his responses. It paid off so far.

Then, one day, Damen realized just how much exactly his efforts were going to pay off.

He was going through some budget report, not his favourite thing to do, when Aktis came into the office. He straightened in his seat, as did Nikandros who sat on the couch, reading through some other documents.

“I’ve got some official private mail for you, Exalted,” Aktis smirked.

“How can it be official and private at the same time?”

The man shrugged, “The _official_ official letter has already been delivered, but this one is just for you.”

Aktis handed him an envelope. It was deep blue with golden embroideries. Damen’s heart picked up its pace. He recognized the color palette. 

He resisted the urge to tear the envelope and rip it’s contents out, mostly because it was _quality_ paper (of course it was, Laurent had class), but also because Nikandros would literally end him if he gave the impression of an overeager puppy.

Instead of opening it with too much force and ruining the remains of his dignity in the other alpha’s eyes, Damen took a letter opener knife.

Damianos was able to be fancy and if someone deserved to have their letter opened in a fancy way, it was Laurent.

Inside the envelope was a single page. It was also deep blue with golden embroideries and golden words.

The message said:

_Exalted Crown Prince Damianos of Akielos,_ _  
_ _you are cordially invited to attend His Highness Prince Laurent of Vere’s 22nd Birthday Reception at the Annual Fundraiser benefit for Chosen Family Foundation. Formal attire required._

There were the date and place listed below.

He realized he was grinning like a teenager only when Aktis poked him in the cheek with his index finger.

“Good news?”

He nodded, “I need to go look for a birthday present.”

“Who’s birthday?”

“Prince Laurent’s,” Aktis laughed, his eyes still on Damen, “apparently he holds a fundraiser in Marlas on his birthday next month.”

Nikandros groaned, “Did he have to invite Damen?”

“He invited an Akielon delegation officially in another letter,” the beta shrugged, and then added, “Damen got a separate, personal invitation. I think it’s sweet.”

“Damianos, you are aware that Pallas’ challenge entailed only sliding into the omega prince’s DMs, not flirting with him?”

Damen didn’t respond. His smile broadened at the mention of flirting with the beautiful man. He wasn’t sure if the other man knew he was being flirted with, but at times the Akielon prince had an impression it went both ways and these moments were glorious. He kept them close to his heart.

Like that one time when Damen sent a good morning text, as usual, and Laurent responded with a fucking snap of him, still in bed, tucked under a thick comforter, his blond hair a golen halo around his soft looking sleepy face.

If Damianos squealed at that, nobody needed to know.

Well, nobody other than the poor maid who got so scared she almost called for an ambulance. 

“Are you flirting with the prince, Damen?” Aktis leaned over the prince’s desk, half amused and half hopeful expression on his face.

Damen hummed, “What if I do?”

“I’m going to die prematurely,” Nik mumbled, glaring daggers at his best friend, “that’s what’s going to happen.”

Aktis waved his hand at Nikandros dismissively, “And is he flirting back?”

At that Damen grimaced slightly and said, “Not sure. Sometimes it feels like he does, but you can never be certain with him.”

“And are you going to ask him out?”

The alpha met the beta’s eyes. He’d rather look at Aktis, whose face seemed more excited and therefore more pleasant at the moment than Nikandros’ twisted with something akin to pain or existential crisis. Possibly both.

“If Laurent’s willing,” he said, his voice turning soft, “I would love to ask him on a date.”

Aktis did some sort of a questionable victory dance, which included an attempt at twerking.

“Why do you celebrate Damen’s next blond mistake, Aktis?”

“Because I just won a bet against Pallas,” the beta whooped, “and I don’t think he’s making a mistake there. The omega prince is smoking hot, even a guy as straight as myself can say that.”

“He’s still a cold snake…”

Damen turned away from the screen, pausing the search for the perfect birthday gift (the report he has been reading before long forgotten) and growled at Nik. How many times will he need to growl at Nik for Laurent? No matter, he would growl as many times as necessary.

“He’s raising money for orphans and abandoned and neglected youth,” he pointed out, raising the blue invitation, the golden parts shining in the sun, “that’s hardly a cold person move, don’t you think?”

Nikandros only mumbled something to himself and pointedly went back to reading his own documents. Aktis left to inform Pallas of his glorious win but Damen didn’t even notice him leaving.

He had the unique opportunity to impress the omega on his own birthday party and was not going to blow off this chance. 

***

The old castle at Marlas was not as lavish as the palace at Arles, but was still more ornate than the minimalist Ios Palace. One could say that Marlas was the perfect balance between the simplicity and straightforwardness of Akielos and the beauty and complexity of Vere. The same applied to the entirety of Delpha (or, in Veretian, Delfeur). After many years, centuries even, of going back and forth between two rival nations, cultures mixed together to create something unique for this region, present only here to witness. Now, as a result of long and tedious diplomatic talks, Delpha was a grey area of sorts, as close to joint governance as possible at the moment. Negotiations on exactly how joint governance should look like still took place to this day. 

Damen couldn’t help but smile. He loved the fact that Laurent chose Marlas to celebrate his birthday this year. For the last month, which he spent trying to get the finance department to agree on as large sum of money as possible to be donated to Laurent’s chosen foundation while simultaneously looking for his own personal gift for the prince, he couldn’t help but think of Delpha as a love child of sorts of Akielos and Vere. The region was full of mixed families, the culture represented the perfect balance between the two countries and most of the citizens spoke both languages.

Call him a hopeless sap but this is what he hoped Laurent and him could become. The yin and yang. The sun and the moon. Those two puppies sharing spaghetti, although that couldn’t be healthy for them in the long run.

Damen forced himself to stop daydreaming. He shouldn’t think of forevers at this point. First, he needed to get the blond man to notice him enough to get them both out of the friendzone and on a true date.

Wait, no, actually he had to find out if the Veretian prince even felt anything remotely close to attraction for Damen. Being the amazing, inspiring and beautiful man that he was, Laurent for sure had plenty of potential suitors.

Again, the alpha was not thinking of forevers, alright? It’s just, he wanted to have the opportunity to explore this connection he felt with Laurent, a chance to find out if there _could_ be forever.

Maybe one day. Today he needed to focus on making a good impression and, hopefully, at the end of the day Laurent will know that he was beginning to mean more to Damianos than just a friend.

When their delegation made their way up the stairs, his excitement must have been more obvious than he intended, because his father glanced at him curiously. Nikandros’ exasperated sigh was to be expected but Damen wasn’t sure if he wanted Theomedes to know anything about his growing interest in Laurent while he still didn’t know how serious it was between them.

Once inside, he immediately started looking for the prince and when he finally saw him, there was nothing he could do to stop the quiet gasp which fell from his lips.

The omega stood by an entrance to what he presumed was a main hall, flanked by his brother and father. The three currently received the Vaskian delegation.

Laurent looked amazing. He wore a deep blue suit with silver adornments, the colors emphasizing his ivory skin and golden hair.

The golden strands framed the omegas gorgeous face, they looked so soft and Damen ached to run his fingers through the man’s hair.

Nik poked him between the ribs discreetly and Damen snapped out of it, pushing his alpha back. His second nature longed to run up to the beautiful omega right now and spend the rest of the fundraiser with him, away from other people.

He needed to get a hold of himself, this is not how a tiny crush should affect him.

The Vaskians proceeded into the main hall and it was their turn to greet their hosts. Theomedes shook king Aleron’s and Auguste’s hands and kissed Laurent’s palm. 

“Exalted, it’s an honor to have you here,” Laurent bowed his head, as was proper, and Theomedes answered with a smile.

“My oldest son is perfectly capable of handling Ios for a day.”

Just like he did before at the festival in March, Damen once again shook Laurent’s hand instead of kissing it.

He would very much love to kiss the omega’s hand but only if the younger prince knew it was not because of protocol.

Besides, he loved how Laurent’s eyes shone with appreciation and fondness and he was willing to break as many protocols as possible just to see this look in his eyes again.

“Happy birthday, your Highness,” he said and squeezed his hand one last time.

“Thank you, Exalted,” he replied and then addressed them all, “Please make your way to the main hall, there is food and drinks provided there.”

They did but before they crossed to said room, Damen glanced over his shoulder one last time, only to see the Patran delegation talking to Veretian royal family and prince Torveld kissing Laurent’s hand way too tenderly for a simple greeting.

He gritted his teeth and turned away.

It wasn’t jealousy, it was him knowing the omega prince didn’t like people drooling on his hand.

He wasn’t jealous.

***

The food was delicious. There were plenty of Veretian dishes, but someone (it wasn’t that hard to guess exactly who) made sure that dishes and delicacies from other countries also appeared on the tables.

Despite the formal nature of the charity collection, the dinner was very informal, organized in the form of a buffet. While Vere wasn't ready to ditch the rules entirely like Vask, no one was rigidly allocated seats at the tables. There was a general rule that everyone could sit down with anyone in their social group.

Unfortunately, Laurent, being the birthday boy and main organizer, was sought after by all delegates and representatives of the royal families. He was never alone. Once Damen's blood boiled when he thought he would finally be able to pull him aside and give him his personal gift, and in the same second Prince Torveld appeared at the blond's side.

He wasn’t able to catch Laurent before the auction.

It was only after everyone had sat down after Laurent's brief speech thanking them for their donations and wishing them a good time and a nice old man named Herode picked up the microphone and started the bidding that Damen was able to grab the prince by the elbow and drag him to one of the side alcoves.

The blond rised a single eyebrow at him, “I don’t think it’s polite of me to get away from my guests, you know.”

“It’s not polite of them to keep you occupied every second of this fundraiser so I can’t talk to you.”

Laurent opened his mouth to say something but he pursed his lips instead, amusement clear in his eyes. Damen smiled. Being able to make the otherwise ice cold prince of Vere laugh was something he was incredibly proud of.

It felt like getting an Oscar.

“You wanted to talk?” Laurent asked with humour in his voice. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest casually.

“It’s your birthday,” Damen said softly, “I wanted to know if you’re having a good time.”

The man shrugged, “I like organizing fundraisers. And if I have to throw a big party to celebrate being born, the least I can do is use the opportunity to help others…”

“But are _you_ having fun?”

Laurent halted and looked at him with something akin of curiosity in his eyes. The alpha felt he needed to make sure Laurent knew he was important too.

“It’s your birthday,” he repeated, “and while what you’re doing is admirable and amazing, it’s important for you to have a good time too. It’s your day.”

Laurent huffed a laugh and replied, “Well, I like the charity part of it, a party this size is not my type of thing,” he glanced at Damen through his eyelashes and added, softer, “Though this right now is much nicer.”

Damen’s heart stopped for a second and then doubled its speed.

Did Laurent just… _flirt_ with him?!

No, he didn’t, there was no way.

But what if he _did_?

He cleared his throat and hoped the prince couldn’t see the slight blush on his cheeks in the dimmed light. Damen reached to his bag, opened it and took out a big, white envelope.

“I have a gift for you.”

Laurent frowned, “Everything was supposed to…”

“To go to charity, yes, I know,” he shot him a small smile and held out an envelope, drawing the blond’s eyes on it, “But I wanted to gift you something for yourself.”

Laurent took it in his hand tentatively, “Should I be scared?”

“No, I feel like you’re going to like it.”

The omega shot him a last doubtful glance and opened the envelope.

When he saw the document inside, he gasped.

“You got me a panther?”

He shrugged, “Maybe.”

“A _panther_ , Damianos?” 

Damen smiled broadly. The look on Laurent’s face made everything worth it.

“I adopted this panther from the Vask wildlife sanctuary,” Damen explained, “I will be sponsoring him for the rest of his life. And,” he smiled, “I asked them to have him named after you.”

He had to force his alpha to stay behind, his other nature yearning to reach out and embrace the omega who looked at him with wide eyes full of bewilderment.

And then Laurent smiled so broadly and happily, and Damen knew he would do anything to have him in his arms in the future.


	8. Laurent's birthday - part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we're due for some outside prespective, aren't we? :)

Laurent’s 22nd birthday was in many ways the most terrifying day of Auguste’s life.

He couldn’t believe it took him THREE MONTHS to realize what was going on.

At first, he hadn’t thought anything of it. For Auguste it was something to laugh at, his little brother getting a message from the Akielon crown prince in the middle of the night. He hadn’t even asked Laurent what the message was about, too busy making fun of his confused face.

There had also been his genuine want for his brother to gain more friends. Laurent had a few friends, but not many. His brother was an “all in or out” kind of person. He wasn’t one for casual acquaintances. One was either Laurent’s close friend or just a person he knew and tolerated. There was no in between.

But Laurent had no friends who understood what it meant to be a royal. Auguste had thought it would be a good idea to have Laurent act as the middleman between them and Akielos before the festival. Auguste and Damianos knew each other for years, he knew the alpha was very similar to him, respectful to any human being. Auguste was certain Damen wouldn’t make his brother feel inferior to him because he was an omega. This had been proved to be true when Damen shook Laurent’s hand instead of following the protocol and kissing his palm.

Auguste had been very pleased at the festival. He had noticed during the previous month how the omega remained basically glued to his phone and how the smile on his face was getting more and more frequent. The amount of time the two princes had spent on the festival only solidified the belief they could form a strong, valuable connection.

The Veretian crown prince, although he remained amused by the whole situation, got slightly suspicious after their trip to Vask. Laurent had spent most of his time there with his new Akielon friend and once they were back in Vere, they had started to exchange not only texts, but photos.

Not _ photos  _ photos, but normal photos. That is, Auguste hoped they were normal, although if the blush on his brother’s cheeks he had witnessed a few times was any indicator, the photos might not have been entirely innocent.

But the alpha wasn’t one for rush decisions. So far there weren’t many red flags that could prove whatever was going on between Laurent and Damianos was more than instant friendship.

Auguste had friends who messaged him a few times a day and with whom he shared pics of some new kind of alcohol worth trying. Maybe Laurent and Damen were doing something similar and he needn’t to worry.

But when Laurent sent not only one invitation to his birthday fundraiser to Akielons, but  _ two,  _ he knew there was something more going on. And he needed to know what.

He decided the best course of action was to observe.

On the morning of his birthday, Laurent behaved as usual. He let himself be hugged by his brother and father, pretended he hated it but failed miserably. Then, when they were getting ready and also later in the car, it was still the Laurent he knew and saw every day.

The first time his expression changed was when they greeted the Akielon delegation and Damianos, once again, shook his hand instead of kissing it. Auguste took a mental note of it, although it wasn’t that significant, because Laurent liked being treated as an equal to alphas.

What did raise a tiny red flag for him was the way Laurent’s eyes followed Damianos for a second too long when the crown prince was leaving to the main hall.

But then he didn’t have time to worry about it because the Patran prince was kissing Laurent’s hand with too much intimacy for either of them and he needed to hold back so he wouldn’t cause an international scandal.

During the buffet part of the fundraiser, Auguste did his best to keep tabs on the Akielon prince and every time he noticed him making a beeline for Laurent, he would steer his brother towards some delegate or other royal. Once he almost failed but prince Torveld got to Laurent first and he sighed with relief. It wasn’t ideal but considering Laurent had no personal relationship with this alpha, it would be easier for Auguste to get rid of Torveld later, if necessary, than Damianos.

The alpha could finally relax for a bit when Laurent went on stage, invited everyone to take part in the auction and made a short speech. Auguste was so proud of him his chest was about to burst.

His baby brother, this too smart for his own good, compassionate child that used to trail behind him everywhere since he could walk, grew up to be this amazing, impressive young man. Even if someone looked behind their shoulder and saw the big grin on his face, Auguste didn’t care. Being Laurent’s older brother was the best that’s ever happened to him and he wasn’t going to hide it.

He watched the auction for a while. People didn’t hesitate to take out their wallets and pay enormous amounts of money for things they most likely didn’t need. Laurent for sure was happy with this outcome.

Auguste turned away from the stage and at this very moment he knew he fucked up.

Every single possible red flag rose in his mind when he frantically (not too frantically, he didn’t want to alert neither the guests nor guards that something was wrong) searched the room the auction was taking place. When he couldn’t find his brother there, he checked the main hall.

Empty.

Auguste’s heart beat forcefully in his chest and if it wasn’t for his heightened alertness, the buzz in his ears would make him miss the voices, coming from one of the alcoves.

_ “I asked them to have him named after you.” _

Auguste paused, hearing how soft Damianos’ voice sounded. He’s never heard him like this before, other than when the alpha was trying to get someone’s attention. Not platnic kind of attention.

He forced himself to stay where he was, so he could observe the situation. The prince needed more information to correctly assess the situation.

“Why the panther though?” Laurent asked, his own voice sounding very similar to when he would talk to one of his friends. Maybe Auguste needn’t have to worry? “Why not some other animal?”

“They’re strong, clever, deadly when they choose,” the alphas voice deepened, “and gorgeous. They remind me of you.”

Oh. Oh no. Oh  _ hell no _ .

That was flirty as fuck. Damianos was flirting with Laurent. Auguste’s baby brother!

But Laurent was too smart to fall for that. Laurent wouldn’t like such a lame pick up line. He had seen his little brother turn down countless alphas for less, there was no way he wouldn’t do that now.

Auguste carefully peaked around the corner, he wanted to, no, had to see his brother destroy Damianos’ hopes…

But Laurent was smiling.

Not only smiling, he was  _ blushing. _

_ RED ALARM. _

He stepped from where he was standing and walked briskly to the two men. They startled at the sudden interruption and turned towards him. Laurent immediately relaxed at the sight of him, Damianos not so much. The alpha’s shoulders tensed. Good.

“Am I interrupting something? Auguste sized them both up, now that he stood closer he could tell whether something improper took place.

“No,” Laurent smiled at him, “Is something wrong?”

“You should go back to the auction, the guests are starting to ask about you.” That was a big fat lie but Auguste wasn’t above deception if it meant his baby brother was safe.

The omega sighed and nodded. He looked at his friend - hopefully still only a friend - and said, “I guess both of us should go back.”

Damianos’s eyes went back and forth between Laurent and Auguste, before they stayed on the youngest prince. He smiled weakly, “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Auguste didn’t wait any longer and threw his arm over his brother’s shoulders, leading him away. Laurent, thankfully, went without a fight.

When he could be sure nobody would hear them, he asked, “What’s in the envelope?”

Laurent smiled, so broadly it took Auguste by surprise for a second. It was very hard to coax this smile out of his brother, even for other family members. His alpha felt uneasy. He didn’t like his sibling, the only omega in the family after their mother died, being in a situation he couldn’t control.

“Just another donation.”

“I think I heard something about a panther.”

The omega hummed, mirth and delight glistening in his big blue eyes, “He had a panther at a sanctuary named after me. How cool is that?”

Depends on the intention, Auguste thought. Out loud, he said, “Who gifts someone with a predatory cat named after them?”

Laurent raised an eyebrow at that and looked at his brother sceptically, “You were the one who told me to befriend Damen, weren’t you?”

Auguste of Vere has never regretted his life choices as much as he did in this moment.

***

That was the end of his luck, apparently. After the auction ended and everyone went back to the main hall to eat, drink and mingle, Auguste was summoned by his father to sit with him and chat with the Akielon king. The crown prince knew his duties, but it was the last thing he wanted to do. He felt the need to look out for Laurent, make sure he wasn’t being led astray. Auguste was too familiar with Damianos’ dating history and he couldn’t help but worry that his beloved baby brother was about to become the next fling. Laurent deserved better.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t invite the omega to sit with them and Theomedes didn’t seem to want to call for his own heir to accompany them.

So, the only thing he was left to do was listen to the kings’ conversation and throw a glance in his brother’s direction from time to time.

Suddenly, his attention turned fully to the two rulers, when his father said, “It seems your son has taken a fancy to my youngest son, Exalted.”

Hope warmed Auguste’s heart. His father noticed and even mentioned it to Theomedes. Father was going to put a stop to this, for sure.

Theomedes' gaze followed Aleron's and both kings watched their younger sons for a moment. Laurent and Damianos stood on the other side of the room, glasses of champagne in their hands, the head of the alpha slightly bent to be able to say something to the blonde in a quiet voice. Omega raised his glass to his lips as if to take a sip of champagne, but Auguste knew his brother was probably hiding a soft smile.

“It does look like it, yes,” The Akielon king replied thoughtfully, and asked, “What about your son, Your Majesty? Does the prince return the affection?”

The denial he was expecting from his father, to Auguste’s utter terror, never came.

The Veretian king rubbed his chin, his eyes still on his omega son.

“We will have to find out,” Aleron turned to Auguste, “Talk to your brother after the fundraiser, ask him how he feels about prince Damianos and inform me later,” Auguste opened his mouth to protest, but father already turned back to the other king, “Auguste will let me know and we can proceed from then.”

Auguste gaped at his father, shell shocked, and only managed to blurt out, “But, father…”.

Aleron waved at him dismissively and Theomedes laughed loudly.

“Well, considering how close we might become in the future, there’s no need for formality, don’t you think? Please, call me Theo.”

The kings shook their hands with broad smiles on their faces, blissfully unaware of the Kill Bill sirens going off in the crown prince’s head.

“Very well, Theo. Call me Al then.”

This was the worst day of Auguste’s life.


	9. The celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> I hope everyone had a nice holidays and New Year's Eve!  
> I'm back with some Lamen fluff <3  
> Have fun! Hope you like this chapter!

It’s been a week since the birthday charity fundraiser and Laurent has been thinking about it every single fucking day.

That day just wouldn’t leave his mind. 

Laurent had tried everything to not think about his birthday party. He would go to the office and work for several hours, eat meals with his brother and father, read books, and in the evenings he binged the newest season of How To Get Away With Murder (he even drafted a letter to Hollywood to give the writers some award because that ending was some big brain shit and nobody appreciated big brain shits more than the second prince of Vere). Laurent even went on a few social media rants which ended with ten new articles written about him. Usually the omega would roll his eyes, scroll past and ignore them, but he was so desperate to focus on something, _anything,_ that he read all of them. 

Doing so solidified his opinion that all these gossip sites were run by absolute morons.

There were other things he had tried over the span of a week, however nothing worked. It was impossible for Laurent to stop thinking about the tall Akielon prince. The man was an epitome of everything alpha - he was big, with broad shoulders and strong jaw, the muscles on his arms looked as if he could pick Laurent up and carry his whole weight in one hand for hours and not get tired. The way Damen conducted himself was characteristic of a natural leader, charismatic and persuasive in the conversation, someone you wanted to listen to and follow. People naturally were drawn to him like flowers towards the sun. And Damianos was like the sun, especially with that bright smile of his. Laurent liked when he smiled like that, so broadly that his dimple appeared. It was adorable. He wanted to touch it one day.

But Damen, despite being basically a walking definition of what an alpha should be, wasn’t a typical alpha. It still amazed Laurent how gentle the Akielon crown prince turned out to be. Meeting Eddie the Goldfish had been eye-opening for the blond. He would never have guessed a man like Damianos, who two hundred years ago would surely be one of the most prominent warriors and even now was an accomplished soldier, could be so caring towards a small fish and gentle enough for said fish to let the man pet it whenever he wanted. It spoke volumes to Laurent of what kind of person the alpha was. And then the man kept surprising him over and over again. first with how considerate he’s been in private, and then by ignoring the patronizing protocol and greeting Laurent as his equal not once but _twice_.

All of these things were confusing on their own but then the panther thing happened.

The fucking panther named after him. Laurent the Panther.

Immediately after getting back to Arles, Laurent had framed the certificate and hung it on the wall. Not in his office, he wouldn’t put anything so precious to him in the office. No, he placed it next to the desk in his bedroom, so he could always look at it.

Adopting the animal and naming it after him was already very sweet, but Damen’s reasoning made his heart truly flip.

_“They’re strong, clever, deadly when they choose and gorgeous. They remind me of you.”_

His omega initially had been pleasantly shocked to hear these words and almost purred in delight every time Laurent remembered that moment. The words combined with the man’s low voice and the way his dark eyes bore into Laurent’s, as if the blond was the only other person in Damen’s world… 

Laurent almost shivered at the fuzzy sensation in his stomach. A few months ago he would’ve laughed at people mentioning the butterflies, but now…

Now he had met Damen. The first man who made him feel more. _Want more_.

He grabbed the phone and unlocked it, immediately noticing the Snapchat notification. The prince opened the app and bit his lip to repress the sigh. Damn, it wasn’t even a sexy photo, it was just a picture of Damen with some bottle of wine he wanted to get for his mom’s birthday, the caption asking whether it was a good choice (Damen didn’t know anything about wines but luckily for him, Laurent was willing to help him out). The photo, or rather Damen’s smile, did things to the Veretian.

“Who are you sexting?”

Yeah, Laurent wasn’t alone.

He texted Damen back - yes, the wine’s good, she should like it - and locked his phone before lifting his eyes at the dark haired man before him.

“I’m not sexting anyone,” he said, hoping the disappointment wasn’t noticeable in his voice. He would never live this down if his friends found out.

“I don’t know about that,” Aimeric sized him up with a suspicious glance before looking over his shoulder at the other man, occupying the chair by the desk, “He’s been constantly on his phone for a few months. At work, Nicaise. He never does that.”

Aimeric was one of Laurent’s few friends and also his personal assistant. The second prince had tried to employ someone else but to be fair, none of the previous candidates could handle him. Laurent could be a handful even when he wasn’t purposefully a dick, Aimeric, only a few months younger than the prince, had been in a desperate need of a job to get away from his dick of a father and as they knew each other for years, Laurent took him in. It worked out well. They liked working together, Aimeric wasn’t pissing his pants at the sight of Laurent’s icy glare and they could be bitchy together without hurting anyone’s feelings. Aimeric still saw his father at work from time to time, but as long as he had his own apartament to go back to, he was happy.

“Oh shit, you’re right,” Nicaise unwrapped a lollipop and put it in his mouth, sucking slightly, “Who are you banging?”

Laurent groaned. He knew they would jump on it like sharks after smelling blood in the water. Thirsty bitches.

“I’m not banging anyone, shut the fuck up.”

“That’s not a way one talks to family, you bitch.”

Nicaise was a family. Well, Laurent considered all of his friends to be his family, even if he would never admit it out loud. But Nicaise was an actual family, some distant cousin of his, the youngest one in their little group, two years younger than Aimeric. Sometimes when Nicaise got drunk, he would joke about wiping the whole royal family out and taking the throne for himself, but the only thing Laurent had to do to make him stop saying things which someone with one brain cell could assume to be treason, was to remind Nicaise that also entailed killing Laurent. It was enough to make Nicaise cry into his cousin’s shoulder.

Of course, nobody would mention it the next day, because that would turn Nicaise into an actual murderer.

“Oh come on, tell us who dicks you down.”

“Nobody, I told you.”

“But you’re on your phone all the time.”

“Spill the tea!”

Laurent sighed, “I was just helping a friend pick a wine for his mom.”

Aimeric lifted an eyebrow and looked at him sceptically, “Which friend? You only have us two and Ancel.”

“There’s also Jord and Lazar,” Nicaise pointed out, “but they’re not as close to him as we are.”

Now it was Aimeric’s turn to sigh.

“Ah, Jord…” Nicaise rolled his eyes at the dreamy voice.

“Why haven’t you fucked him already,”

“I told you I’m working on it.”

“Working yourself open?” Nicaise snorted, “How big is he?”

“I’ll let you know,” Aimeric winked at him and shifted the conversation back to Laurent, “Seriously, man, you would tell us if you were banging someone, right?”

“Sure,” the prince shrugged, trying to act casual despite the heat in his stomach at the mere thought of Damianos in this context, “but I’m not, so could you drop it?”

Nicaise hummed, eyeing him thoughtfully. Laurent stiffened slightly. He knew his cousin was about to say something Laurent would hate.

“Alright. So you’re not having sex with anyone,” the nineteen year old smirked, “Is there someone you would like to climb?”

Aimeric nodded at Nicaise appreciatively and they both turned to look at Laurent who wanted to die. The omega prince knew his self-control was legendary but these were his friends, the people who knew him best, save for his closest family.

His fears turned out to be valid when Aimeric’s eyes widened.

“ _Oh my fucking god_ , there _is_ someone!”

Fucking shit, Laurent thought.

“Are you seeing someone? No, you’re not, I would know…” Aimeric furrowed his eyebrows as he forced his brain to work, “Is it a crush?”

Laurent looked away, suddenly he just couldn’t maintain eye contact. Nicaise inhaled sharply.

“Is Laurent blushing?!” yes, he could feel the heat on his cheeks and he hated himself for that, “Aimeric, he’s blushing, he has a crush!”

The two jumped on the bed next to him and started throwing questions at their friend, who desperately tried to find a way to talk himself out of this situation. It was new to him and he hated not knowing what to do.

But then he thought of the snap of Damen smiling with the wine bottle in his hand. Laurent could feel himself soften. There was no point in denying it.

“Ok, fine!” Laurent snapped which immediately shut the other two mouths, “There might be someone I like.”

“Might be?” Nicaise laughed, “Dude, you’re blushing. You never blush.”

“So, who is he?” Aimeric looked giddy but seeing Laurent hesitate, quickly added, “Come on, we’re your friends, we wouldn’t use it against you.”

The prince took a deep breath. His eyes fell on the panther certificate. He jerked his head towards the document, “That’s his gift for my birthday.”

His cousin turned around and then back, casting Laurent a questioning gaze, “He’s the one who named the panther after you?”

Laurent nodded and immediately noticed when Aimeric put the facts together.

“But that was…,” he faltered, “You’re crushing on the crown prince of Akielos?!”

Nicaise frowned, “Wait, I suck at foreign politics, what does he look like?”

Aimeric wordlessly unlocked the phone, typed something and passed the phone to Nicaise.

“Daaaamn, he’s _fine,_ ” his cousin gaped at some pictures of Damianos, “That’s a smoking hot alpha, you have a good taste, Laurent. You should totally jump on that.”

“So, you’ve been flirting with him this whole time?”

“Well,” Laurent pulled a string out of his oversized blue sweater. It was Saturday and almost everyone had a day off, that’s why they decided to meet, “We haven’t been really flirting…”

He told them the whole story, starting from the odd 3am message, the festival, the easy conversations both over text and in Vask, and finally his birthday fundraiser. The only thing he left out was Eddie. Laurent knew how private Damen was with his fishy friend.

“He had been a bit flirty after he gave me the gift but since then he’s been normal,” Laurent ended the story and he didn’t even try to hide the disappointment in his voice this time, “I thought maybe he…” the omega prince swallowed and looked down at the string in his hands.

A hand grabbed him by the arm and pulled into a hug.

“Don’t worry, he’s definitely into you,” Aimeric said into the blond hair, holding him close. Laurent silently appreciated the comforting gesture.

“Oh absolutely,” Nicaise nodded and squeezed Laurent’s knee, “He took you on a penguin date and named a predatory cat after you because you remind him of a murderous and beautiful animal. He’s embarrassingly into you.”

The prince opened his mouth to say something. Then closed it. Opened again.

“It wasn’t a date.”

“Maybe not intentionally,” Aimeric shrugged, “but it was totally a date.”

“And, dude,” Nicaise jumped in, “You said yourself this Damianos guy is, like, ultra respectful and pro equal rights. So why are you waiting for him to do something? You make the first move!”

“Exactly! Fuck gender roles! Besides,” Aimeric added, “he flirted with you on the fundraiser, maybe he’s waiting for your response?”

That made Laurent stop and go through their conversations throughout the last few days. Nothing Damen said stood out to him in particular, he’s been mostly the same kind, funny and thoughtful man and Laurent longed to cuddle him every time he got a pic of the alpha next to the fish tank. 

Though the number of emojis did increase significantly, so there was that.

He didn’t get the opportunity to think more because his friends grabbed him and pulled up.

“This occasion requires a celebration!” Nicaise announced, “We’re going shopping!”

Laurent groaned but otherwise didn’t protest because he knew exactly where they were going.

Half an hour later the three - and their security. but the men in black stayed behind - entered the most expensive mall in Arles and immediately headed to the biggest store on the top floor.

As soon as they entered the store, a high pitched shriek pierced their ears and a second later Laurent had his arms full of a crazy redhead.

“Hi, darlings!” Ancel hugged them all one by one and kissed Nicaise on the cheek, which the youngest wiped with the back of his palm with a disgusted expression.

Ancel was the fourth and oldest member of their little squad. He was twenty-five and owned one of the most exclusive brands of clothes in Vere. He spent most of his time in the store, running the business alongside his boyfriend, Berenger.

Ancel was embarrassing sometimes but Laurent adored him for how chill and open he was.

Their four member omegas friend group was one of the best things in the younger prince's life. 

“We’re here for a celebratory shopping,” Nicaise informed and Ancel raised a single eyebrow.

“What are we celebrating?”

Aimeric smirked at the oldest, “Laurent’s first crush.”

Ancel covered his mouth with a hand and gasped.

“ _No way_ ! You have a crush?” Laurent grimaced but nodded, “ _OMG!_ On who?!”

Aimeric once again took out his phone and turned the screen, saying, “Meet crown prince Damianos of Akielos.”

“Oooh,” the redhead took the phone and scrolled down, “This is the most _alpha_ alpha I’ve ever seen. Look at these shorts!” he gasped again, sized Laurent up and down and said, “If you ever need an advice on how to take _that_ , I’ll gladly help you.”

The blond didn’t need a mirror to know his face turned red. He cleared his throat.

“No need to be shy, darling,” Ancel hugged him tightly against his chest, “We’re happy for you, Laurie, we really are. He’s very handsome and he must be nice if you like him.”

“He is,” Laurent said quietly and Ancel squeezed him once before taking a step back.

“I’m glad. You know you can take whatever you want,” he gestured broadly at the contents of his store.

Ancel always let the three of them pick clothes for free. At first they felt bad for not paying, but as Ancel wouldn’t accept any money from them, they gave up. Instead he asked them to post some pictures of them wearing his clothes on social media and tagging his brand. Aimeric was well known because of his family’s ties to the crown and being close to Laurent. Nicaise was a model, so it made sense for him to sign a contract with Ancel. Laurent was a prince so people always paid attention to his clothing.

They roamed around the store for a while. Laurent suddenly remembered his friend’s words.

_Make the first move, huh?_

He walked up to Ancel as casually as he could. The man smiled at him and the prince relaxed. This was one of his best friends. He didn’t have to be nervous.

“So, theoretically,” Ancel put down whatever document he’s been reading and focused on him, “If I wanted a piece of clothing which would say ‘I’m into you’, not so subtle that he would miss the message but not slutty either…”

Ancel hummed and tapped his chin with a single finger for a few long seconds, which almost made Laurent’s heart beat the hole in his chest.

Then he grabbed the younger omega by the wrist and dragged him to the other side of the store.

“So you want to stay classy but sensual,” Ancel summed up. Laurent couldn’t argue, he was the expert at seduction here, “A shirt is always a safe choice. Silk adds the sexiness to the look.”

Laurent looked at the clothes in front of him. He liked the style immediately. The shirts were truly beautiful and were something Laurent would actually want in his closet, but as he’s never worn anything like this in public, they could make a statement he wanted.

He thanked Ancel and the man went back to work, leaving him alone. Laurent inspected several shirts and soon enough, he found one he thought Damen would appreciate.

The prince felt a bit silly going into the changing room. He always preached that omegas shouldn’t have to strive to impress alphas with their appearance and he still stood by it.

But it didn’t change the fact Laurent _wanted_ Damianos to find him beautiful, attractive and, even more importantly, he wanted him to know Laurent was willing to turn their relationship into something… not platonic.

The silk felt nice on Laurent’s skin. It was soft, light and caressed his body in a way that made him shiver. He looked at himself in the mirror and couldn’t help but wonder what Damen would think of him wearing it.

Then the plan formed in his mind. He smirked.

Slender fingers unbuttoned the top of the shirt, just the first two buttons. After a second thought he reached back and released his hair from a low ponytail. The golden strands fell on his shoulders. His hair wasn’t that long, it barely reached his shoulders, but it was a perfect length for him. Not too long so it was bothersome, but long enough to tie it over his neck.

He put the hair behind his ear on one side and gathered the rest to the front over his other shoulder. A relaxed pose, slight tilt of head to the side, so the neck - uncovered for once - would seem longer and the collarbone peeking out from the unbuttoned collar. A few clicks of the camera on his phone.

Laurent smiled, liking the way he looked in the unbuttoned blood red shirt.

He opened their text messages, loaded the best photo (his neck looked swan-like, the collarbone seemed sharp and blond hair a beautiful contrast to the red silk) and…

Laurent bit his lip, trying to decide on the caption.

The look was perfect and he couldn’t ruin it with a shitty caption.

He took a deep breath, wrote whatever came to his mind first and pressed _send_.

Half a minute later he saw the message had been opened.

...but there was no reply.

Feeling disappointed, he shoved the phone back to his pocked, changed back and walked outside to meet with the others.

They were already waiting for him, looking as if they were about to burst with curiosity.

“I sent him a mirror selfie,” Laurent said, wanting to get this over with, “He didn’t reply.”

“Show me,” Ancel stretched out his hand and Laurent passed him his phone.

“Oh, you look very sexy, but still princely, I approve,” Nicaise said.

“The caption is nice too,” Aimeric added.

Ancel smirked, “And he did respond, you hopeless gay disaster.”

Laurent snatched his phone back, ignoring the amused sounds, and read the message.

  
  


_From: Laurent_

_June 1st, 2:05pm  
_ _[attached photo]_

_Went shopping with some friends. I saw this shirt and thought of you._

  
  


_From: Damen_

_June 1st, 2:11pm_

_You can’t do this to me, Laurent. My heart almost stopped._

  
  


Laurent smiled and texted him back.

_From: Laurent_

_June 1st, 2:12pm_

_I could always bring you back to life. How do you feel about a Snow White-like kiss of resurrection?_

_From: Damen_

_June 1st, 2:12pm_

_You could do anything you want to me, Laurent._

  
  


“Nice,” Nicaise commented, looking down at the screen over the prince’s shoulder, “Now tell him you want to have his babies, it’ll get you laid faster.”

Laurent kicked him in the ass. Hard.


	10. A question

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I know it's been nearly a month since the last update but I'm in the middle of midterms right now and it was hard for me to write something light and fluffy.  
> Having said that. I decided to make this chapter EXTRA SWEET AND FLUFFY to make up for it.  
> Let me know if the wait was worth it <3

It took some time to realize but Damen was aware of how superficial he’d been throughout most of his life.

Some of it could be blamed on the upbringing. Growing up as a member of the royal family, he had been bound to be surrounded by beautiful architecture, tasteful furniture and high quality clothes. It was only natural for him to view people in a similar matter, however shallow it made him.

Everyone around him has always been good looking, whether it was a family member or a romantic interest. Damn, all of his friends were smoking hot too.

Damen had never paid it much mind. He was used to it, the beauty surrounding him all the time was the prince’s reality.

Needless to say, his mindset did a 180 when Laurent karate kicked the door to his life open and demanded a rent free place in Akielon's mind.

The younger prince was of course gorgeous and fit the pattern of Damen befriending mostly beautiful people, but that’s not the point.

The alpha had obviously been aware of Laurent’s looks before they started talking, Theomedes made sure his heir wouldn’t embarrass himself by not knowing important people’s names. But before the drunken dare, they hadn’t met for long enough to talk and, more importantly, the blond hadn’t even been considered a potential prospect for Damen.

First of all, it wasn’t that long since Damianos had ended his wild phase, during which he would flirt with the majority of attractive people around him, have a fun time together with them,  _ maybe  _ date one of them for a month before realizing this wouldn’t work and moving on. At that time Laurent had been too young for him and attended too little events to draw his attention anyway. So, the most Damen had known about him was that he existed and his name.

Second of all, they started off their friendship over texts. Damen had never done this before. He was a _ let’s meet in person and hang out and see what happens  _ type of man. Talking over Instagram was an uncharted territory for him.

Now, a whole four months later, he was glad they did it this way. He was able to focus on the person first instead of looks. It let him get to know Laurent, truly know him, his likes, dislikes, little quirks, habits, how the blond viewed the world around him. These alone had Damen more interested than ever and the Akielon crown prince had once dated a Victoria’s Secret model.

Not that said model was more beautiful than Laurent. Damianos knew for the fact that if the younger prince of Vere wished, VS would open their arms for him and kiss the floor under his feet. There were several articles about it. Damen was being objective here.

The point is, Damianos became interested in Laurent as a person before becoming truly attracted to the way the man looked.

And it said volumes of how deep he already was, because Laurent was drop dead gorgeous and looking at him was as hypnotising as watching dancing flames or a full moon.

It was impossible to not develop feelings, not with how in sync they seemed and the fact that Laurent was basically his every wet dream personified. That’s why Damen decided to take a leap of faith, give the man a special gift (he still was so proud of himself for coming up with this idea) and hope for the best.

They flirted a bit at the party but nothing much happened over the next week and the crown prince was beginning to lose it. He wanted to let the blond decide.

He was sitting with his friends, drinking beer and eating, trying not to appear too miserable with the apparent lack of affection from the Veretian prince and failing, judging by the expression on Nik’s face. Then his phone flashed with a notification and Damen almost choked on a banana.

“You ok, bro?” Aktis slammed a hand against Damen’s back to push the lethal fruit back and let his friend breathe.

Nik, on the other hand, groaned, “Please tell me it’s not the golden snake.”

Pallas also said something but Damen tuned them all out. The picture occupied his whole attention.

The picture. The damn picture of Laurent in the silk red shirt. It would be bad enough if he wore it as he did other shirts but no, the man had to let his hair loose and unbutton the top two buttons.

He could feel his alpha whine at the sight of the bare milky white skin. Damen wanted to carres the skin, check how soft it was, examine if the collarbone was as sharp as it looked.

The brown eyes landed on the exposed neck. His alpha longed to sink his teeth in it’s softness and pierce through the omega’s mating gland, making Laurent his forever.

A low growl slipped out of his mouth when Nikandros leaned closer. This picture was for Damen and for Damen only.

Nik sighed heavily, “Whatever he sent you, don’t respond, don’t flirt with him any longer, I am begging you, Damianos.”

“Don’t be like this, Nik,” said Pallas, frowning at the man, “If Damen likes him, why shouldn’t he…”

“Because it’s not some model or actress, it’s a fucking prince,” Nikandros pointed out, “and any kind of relationship between them will be political. Everyone at the palace and in the whole Akielos would sleep better if they remained only friends.”

“Seriously, dude?” Aktis took a sip of his beer and grimaced. It wasn’t his favourite brand but the guy was against wasting any beer and as he opened it, he was determined to finish the bottle. “I get that you’re worried and I honestly don’t blame you, but the young prince seems fine to me. And I’ve seen them last week in Marlas, he’s definitely not indifferent, so why not let them explore?”

The scowl on his best friend’s face only deepened when Damen looked away from his phone and added, “Besides, it’s not really your business who I want to flirt with. I do appreciate the concern though.”

Nikandros eventually let it go, but only after murmuring, “You’ll remember I warned you when it bites you in the ass.”

Damen paid his words no mind and simply changed his wallpaper.

He unlocked his phone and exchanged a few messages with Laurent, completely ignoring Nikandros glaring at him for the majority of the time. Damen was serious when he said the blond could do anything he wished to him. If he wanted to tie him down and tease him endlessly while sitting across the room, then by everything considered holy in this world, Damen would gladly let him. The arousal flowed through his veins at the thought of the omega in this context. 

Phone safely tucked away in the pocket, Damianos once again took part in the conversation. He would never live it down if he came in his pants next to his friends.

Later in the evening, the alpha decided it was time to be even bolder. The other prince already confirmed he was not indifferent by sending the picture and the next few texts, so…

He opened their conversation and typed a message.

  
  


_ From: Damen _

_ June 1st, 8:31pm _

_ Hey there :) What are you doing? _

_ From: Laurent _

_ June 1st, 8:33pm _

_ Reading. Why? _

_ From: Damen _

_ June 1st, 8:33pm _

_ Can I call you before you go to bed? :) _

_ From: Laurent _

_ June 1st, 8:34pm _

_ Sure. Call whenever you want. _

Damen called exactly two minutes later, after combing his hair. He smiled when Laurent’s face appeared on the screen.

_ “Hello there.” _

“Hi. What were you reading?”

Laurent raised a single eyebrow and Damen wanted to strangle him for making it so attractive.

_ “Did you call me to talk about what I’m reading?” _

“I want to know everything about you,” he replied with honesty, “So yeah, I’m down for making a book club with you.”

The blond’s expression softened slightly as he briefly looked away. Damen’s heart clenched in tenderness. The blond looked so soft, his hair was loose, framing his face beautifully, He could see a fluffy looking sweater in the frame. His alpha yearned to snuggle with him and Damen agreed.

He wondered what it would be like to hold the omega in his arms. Would he be stiff with nervousness or pliant and comfortable?

_ “I got a book for my birthday. A gift from prince Torveld of Patras,”  _ he mentioned offhandedly and Damen had to hold his second nature back. He didn’t like another alpha giving gifts to the omega he’s interested in.

“Do you like it?”

Laurent grimaced and Damen’s heart sang seeing this,  _ “Not really. I’m not into geology.” _

“Yeah, I figured,” he took a deep breath for courage and said, “If I were to gift you a book, I would choose something else.”

Even with thousands of miles between them and through a camera, the omega’s eyes still pierced right through his soul. He held his breath in anticipation.

_ “What kind of book would you get for me?” _

A thrill ran through the alpha’s body. It was a green light. Laurent just gave him permission to flirt with him. The feeling of approval was heady and he simply let the words flow.

“It would be a novel. A fantasy one, maybe sci-fi,” his voice got softer with every word, but he didn’t care; he wanted Laurent to  _ know,  _ “with great, complex worldbuilding, morally grey characters, unexpected plot twists and genuine character development.”

Laurent was silent for a long beat and just looked at him with an expression the Akielon prince couldn’t decipher.

_ “I would love that,”  _ he whispered.

“It would also be gay as fuck because I know better.”

That made Laurent bark a laugh. A smile grew on Damen’s face. He adored the sound of Laurent’s laughter.

_ “Of course you do.” _

He looked at the blond on his screen, the easy smile on his beautiful face and it was the last push Damen needed.

“I would do anything to make you laugh,” he confessed and hoped the rapid beating of his heart didn’t reach the microphone, “if you let me.”

_ “I--”  _ Laurent swallowed. His gorgeous blue eyes danced on what Damen expected was his face on the blond’s screen, searching for something. The crown prince let him gather his thoughts. He was willing to wait as long as necessary, _ “What are you saying, Damen?” _

“I’m saying I would love to get to know you,” he said, “all of you. Not as a friend. I thought…” he cleared his throat, suddenly unsure if the golden prince wished for the same, “I thought you’d want it too, I’m sorry if I misinterpreted…”

_ “No!”  _ Laurent seemed startled by his own raised voice, as if he didn’t mean to react so violently, _ “I mean… Of course I would like for us to… I just didn’t expect you to ask me right now.” _

“That’s not what I’m doing right now, Laurent,” Damen felt it was important for Laurent to know he was serious about them, “I’m asking you to date me.”

_ “Oh.”  _

The alpha in him didn’t like how the blond seemed to deflate a bit, so he added quickly, “I wouldn’t ask such an important question over Facetime. I’m not that lazy and you deserve to be asked out first.”

The corner of the omega’s mouth jerked upwards. He turned his face away. Damen wished he wouldn’t hide his smiles from him.

“You know,” Laurent eventually said, the uncertainty in his voice replaced with humour, “there are people who think our trip to the zoo was a date.”

Damen was aware, he had read these articles. And it took two weeks to make Pallas and Aktis stop calling it a date.

“I still want to take you out. But this time with both of us knowing it’s a date.”

Laurent laughed again and turned back to the camera. Damen returned a smile. It was impossible not to when Laurent had this gentle look on his face.

“Will you go on a date with me, Laurent?”

_ “I’d love to.” _

Damen had to hold himself back before he made himself look like an idiot for doing a celebratory dance.

_ “Was it the shirt that convinced you?”  _ he smirked, _ “Would you like me to wear in on our first official date?” _

The alpha shrugged, “If you want me to die on the spot then please, feel free to wear it.”

The sound of the omega’s unrestrained laughter warmed Damen’s heart. He promised himself to never let this smile leave his face.

***

They decided to meet two weeks later.

To be honest they could just wait a month. There was a gala planned for July in Arles and Akielons were invited, however Damen was determined to take Laurent on a date planned by him and that wouldn’t happen in Laurent’s own city. So, the alpha insisted they went somewhere else.

Damen wanted them to be uninterrupted, somewhere where it could be just the two of them, but Laurent, as smart as he was, said it would be better for them if they met at a bigger event rather than a small one. He immediately understood what the blond meant. It’s easier to hide in a crowd, after all.

Luckily, it so happened there was a movie festival in Vask. Damen remembered Vaskians being very chill the last time they visited the country and liked the idea even better. Laurent agreed and they arranged their flights.

Damianos didn’t tell anyone what this trip was really about. Aktis and Pallas would be too excited to keep it to themselves and he didn’t need Nikandros’ lectures at the moment.

He had an omega to woo. He needed to focus.

The closer he got to seeing him, the more nervous he got. Laurent already liked him and he must’ve felt some sort of affection for him but it didn’t mean he could settle. No, he would never take these feelings for granted. Damen was going to earn the omega’s affection. Especially after their conversations in the two weeks leading up to their date. The last thing he wanted was to give Laurent a reason to regret giving him a chance.

The two princes greeted each other in front of other guests and press as they always did (Damen once again shaking his hand, the gesture already earned them a few articles online full of speculations) and went to watch the movies with everyone. Vaskians were as relaxed as the previous time and didn’t care who sat next to who. Damen liked Vaskians, they just wanted people to have a good time.

Once, Laurent leaned closer in the dark and murmured, “Is this your version of the cinema part of the date?”

He chuckled, “Do you want it to be?”

Laurent’s face looked unreal in the artificial light of the projector and Damen wanted to hold him close.

After, they went to attend the dinner. It was, just like before, a buffet, so they were able to get some food and drinks and find an empty table in a secluded place without any issues. They ate and talked about anything that came to their minds. The blond was relaxed. There was no press around, every reporter was shown the door right after the movies, and the guests mostly paid them no attention other than a short greeting. It felt like a real dinner date.

But Damen had something else in mind.

“There’s a nice place a short walk away from here,” he mentioned when they returned their plates, “it’s said to have an extraordinary view. Would you like to go on a walk with me?”

Laurent nodded.

The two walked down the path in comfortable silence, Damen slightly in the front so he could lead the way. From time to time he would steal glances at the man next to him and most of the time he saw a tiny, private smile.

Finally they reached the top of the hill. The sun hovered just above the horizon, painting the sky red and gold. The view was truly beautiful.

Laurent leaned over the railing and observed the sky, drinking everything in.

“The view is gorgeous,” he said, the awe obvious in his voice.

“Not as gorgeous as you.”

Setting sun did little to hide the blush creeping on Laurent’s face. Damen couldn’t help but smile. He was a happy person in general but he knew he smiled more often since he met Laurent.

The blond turned away from the view and looked at him, his eyes fond and warm.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Is it a good first date?”

He hoped it was enough. There was only so much he could prepare in an unfamiliar place while also keeping in mind they wanted to avoid the attention of other guests and press.

“I don’t like overly complicated outings,” said Laurent, turning back to the view, “I’ve had enough of these over the years. This… is simple. I like it very much.”

Damen exhaled with relief which made Laurent chuckle quietly.

“I have something for you.”

The blond raised his eyebrows at him as Damen opened his bag and took out a small package.

“What is it?”

“A gift.”

Laurent snorted, “I can see that.”

He took the gift and after Damen nodded with permission, Laurent carefully removed the wrapping paper.

“I did promise you a book, didn’t I?”

Laurent turned the book around to read the blurb. He laughed, “Are you trying to tell me something with this novel?”

“I don’t plan on killing your brother at a war, Laurent.”

“I should hope so.”

Damen let him examine the cover for a while, the pleased expression on the blond’s face calmed his nerves.

“Open it for me, would you?”

Laurent threw him a questioning look but did as asked and opened it at the front page.

The omega gasped.

Damen waited patiently, trying his best to not pay attention to his alpha who moved around anxiously. The silence went on and on as Laurent read the message over and over again.

At last, he lifted his gaze and looked at Damen incredulously.

“Are you serious?” his voice was barely above a whisper.

“Very,” Damen replied. He reached out, slowly, giving Laurent enough time to step out of the reach. The man didn’t. Despite the warm weather, Laurent’s hand was cold in his hold, “You’re the most intriguing person I’ve ever met. You’re incredibly smart, you keep stimulating my mind. I admire how you can reduce a man to a shadow of himself with just a few words. But you’re also so compassionate. I’ve never met anyone who wouldn’t make fun of me because of Eddie,” he laughed briefly, eyes fixed on their joint hands, as he didn’t think he would be able to say these things and look into these beautiful blue eyes, “I would love to try with you and see where it gets us. If that’s what you want as well, of course.”

Laurent’s finger twitched in his hold and he dared to look up. What he saw took his breath away.

Laurent looked at him as if it was the first time he truly saw him. There was no trace of the polite social mask, present in some way every time the man found himself in public. His porcelain skin was flushed just a tiny bit, lips slightly parted and his eyes…

These gorgeous, beautiful eyes, which reminded Damen of the ocean in Isthima and haunted his dreams, were blurry, as if the young prince just woke up from a dream.

“Yes.”

“Yes?” Damen couldn’t believe his own ears.

Laurent nodded, “I would like to see where it gets us too.”

That was the moment when Damianos decided it was the best day of his life. His heart was full, face hurt from the wide smile which took over his face as he looked at the omega beside him, biting his lip to hide a smile of his own.

He squeezed the hand of the omega, his new boyfriend, and let himself look in the future with hope.


	11. A shrimp party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BAAAAAAAAACK :D

It’s been four days since the movie festival in Vask and Laurent still couldn’t comprehend what had happened there and how many things have changed since then between Damen and him.

Well, not that much changed on the outside. The morning and goodnight messages took place just like before. They still exchanged texts throughout the day whenever they could spare a few minutes to pick up a phone and the alpha continued to call in the evenings.

What did change was the tone of their conversations.

It made Laurent go insane.

Now that they were together, Damen felt no qualms about flirting with him. Not that he hadn’t been flirty before. But before their date - the official first date, not the penguin date - the alpha at least had been subtle. Or subtle enough for Laurent not to notice for a while.

Since then his smiles have been wider, eyes warmer and words did things to the omega which he didn’t want to discuss.

It would be too embarrassing to talk about.

“What are your plans for today?” It was Saturday so instead of waiting for the evening, Damen called as soon as Laurent texted him back that he was awake. The blond took his time before he answered, letting his phone ring for around a minute. It wasn’t because he wanted to make the alpha wait. Laurent simply felt like four days into the relationship was too soon for Damen to see him in his pajamas, so he jumped out of the bed to put on something more appropriate.

“Ancel, Aimeric and Nicaise wanted to meet,” Laurent said as he propped his head on the hand, subtly trying to fix his hair. He didn’t get to brush it yet, “before Ancel has to start working on the fall collection.”

“But it’s still mid-June.”

“It takes time to prepare a whole collection, Damianos.”

“Right.” He laughed. Laurent’s mouth twitched as he tried to suppress a smile. It wasn’t really in character for him to smile so much and he didn’t want the alpha to think of him as overeager. “Are you excited to see your friends? I remember you mentioned you don’t get to see them often.”

“It’s always nice,” Laurent admitted and then snorted, “though they might want to talk about you.”

Damen’s eyebrows shot upwards on Laurent’s screen, “About me? Why?”

“They’re the reason you got the silk shirt picture.” 

His omega stirred at the sight of Damianos’ smirk. He recalled the man’s reaction to the shirt and instantly felt warmth pool deep in his belly.

“So you told your friends about us?” The alpha’s voice was significantly deeper. Laurent swallowed. God, he was weak.

“Only that I liked you, not about…” he faltered but the warm smile on the screen helped him find his words again, “Would you mind if I told them?”

Right after Laurent said yes to being his boyfriend and they evacuated from the hill (if it wasn’t for some random hikers they would’ve kissed for sure), they agreed to keep their relationship private. It would be best to not go public for a while, they were both high profile figures after all.

“Not at all.” Damen smiled. “I think we shouldn’t keep it from our friends and family. They could be helpful in the future when we want to meet.”

“I don’t know about family.” The blond snorted, thinking about Auguste’s lack of ability to cover his mortified face right after Laurent’s birthday and his potential reaction to his baby brother dating a foreign crown prince. “We’re royals, remember? They might not like it and be very against it, especially when it’s still fresh.” 

A low hum could be heard through the speaker. Laurent’s eyes followed Damianos’ hand as it rose to the camera and tugged lightly at the brown curls. His own palm tingled. He could feel the ghost of Damen’s touch, how these strong fingers felt around his own and longed to hold his hand again. If it wasn’t for the Facetime, Laurent would’ve slapped himself on the face for these thoughts. He wasn’t some overrated rom-com movie omega whose sole meaning of existence was to glance dramatically outside the window and daydream about their alpha crush. He was a fucking prince. Laurent was better than that, he wasn’t going to become a lovesick fool after only four days of relationship, especially a long distance one.

Yet, he couldn’t help but wish for more time in each other’s company.

More physical contact would be nice too.

“You might be right,” said Damen, “We could wait to tell our families, but our friends could help us.”

“How?”

The picture blurred for a second when Damen shrugged.

“Like when we want to meet, they could help us avoid paparazzi.”

Laurent smirked. “Why, Damen? Aren’t you able to sneak around on your own?”

The crown prince rubbed his neck sheepishly and it took every ounce of self control for Laurent to keep his eyes fixed on the man’s face. The bulging muscles weren’t  _ that _ exciting.

“I think you know me well enough by now to know the answer.”

The blond laughed. The alpha was unable to deceive people. Laurent wondered how he was going to hide their relationship from everyone if he felt bad about keeping secrets.

They talked for a while longer and then Damen had to go to the gym. Laurent put his phone down and got dressed (actually dressed, not a sweater over pajamas just so the boyfriend wouldn’t see too much too early). He spent the next hour or so reading the continuation of the book Damen had given him recently. The blond was pleased - his boyfriend hit the jackpot with this series, it made the past few evenings much more enjoyable for him.

When his friends arrived, they went to the living room in the family wing, ordered lunch and threw themselves on the couches. Gracefully threw themselves, because, as Ancel concluded, they had class.

As they ate, Nicaise talked about some modeling job he got recently but by the way the youngest trailed away every now and then, and how the other two omegas seemed distracted, Laurent knew they only pretended to not care.

It was a matter of time until their resolve broke.

And surely enough, as soon as the plates had been cleared, the three nearly jumped on him.

“What happened?”

“What did he say about the shirt?”

“Does your ass still hurt?”

“For fucks sake, Nicaise,” Laurent hissed, causciosly checking the door just in case someone was about to barge in and tell him off for dating a foreign royal, “I didn’t sleep with him. It was just a date.”

“Exactly.”

“So, if you didn’t bang, what were you doing?” Ancel leaned forward, his eyes wide with anticipation.

“We spent the movie festival together, ate dinner,” he recalled, “ then he took me to some secluded hill, gave me a gift…”

“Himself naked?”

Laurent only rolled his eyes. “A book. First one in the series. He chose well, I’m still quite surprised.”

“Oh come on,” Nicaise groaned, “There must be more.”

Aimeric nodded. “You were like a child before Christmas the day before you went to Vask. Spill the tea!”

The three looked at the prince expectantly. Laurent repressed a sigh. He wanted to tell them, they were his closest friends, people whom he trusted the most aside from Auguste and his dad, Damen was fine with sharing the news… And yet, Laurent was nervous.

No, not because he was scared of their response. It’s because he knew they were going to be overly dramatic, like in some telenovela.

“No I wasn’t,” the blond felt the need to correct this awful assumption, “I would never get excited for this overrated holiday, not even if I walked out of it with a boyfriend, I’m not a fucking child…”

“Wait a damn minute, shut the fuck up!” Ancel shot up from his seat and almost shoved his whole palm in Laurent’s mouth to try to prevent him from talking. “Did you just say  _ boyfriend _ ?!”

Laurent tried to get away from Ancel’s hand pressed to his mouth, so he could tell his friends that _ they _ should be the ones to shut the fuck up and stop pterodactyl screeching or someone outside would call the security, but the redhead omega held him firmly in place. When narrowing his eyes and a slap on the arm didn’t work, Laurent did what had to be done.

“Ouch!” Ancel staggered back. He looked back and forth between his hand and the younger omega, shock all over his face. “You  _ bit me _ , you bitch!”

“Because you wouldn’t let me go!”

“Can we please go back to the boyfriend news?” Aimeric jumped in.

Ancel sat on the coffee table while the other two flanked Laurent, who in this very moment felt as if he was surrounded by three hyenas.

He sighed. “Can you not blow it out of proportion? Please? It’s not a big deal…”

“Not a big deal, he says.” Nicaise snorted. “Dude, your crush leveled up to your boyfriend. Your first boyfriend, so that’s kinda huge.”

“How did that happen? Did he get you flowers, went on one knee…”

“It wasn’t a proposal.” Laurent pointed out but it did nothing to dampen the excitement in his friends.

So, the omega decided to be honest.

He stood, walked to a smaller bookcase in the corner of the living room and took out the book Damianos gave him. Laurent was rereading his favourite passages the previous evening and after noticing he was smiling like an idiot at the sweet hand-written message, he decided to leave the book there instead of taking it back to his bedroom. It was risky leaving it where someone could pick it up, but Laurent needed to prove to himself that he wasn’t the sappy one in this relationship.

Having retrieved the book, he went back to his seat and gave it to Aimeric.

“He asked me after we climbed the hill.”

The three nearly pressed their faces into the book to read Damianos’ message and Laurent almost laughed at them because of that. He didn’t though, too stressed about the fact that other people got their hands on his gift. These were his friends so all the fears he was experiencing at this moment were, frankly speaking, ridiculous and unfounded. But this book and the sweet, tender words written by a hand so obviously not used to any form of calligraphy (or legible writing for that matter) were more personal than anything Laurent had ever shared. He never had anything as personal as this to share with anybody before. 

“That’s so sweet!” Aimeric cooed.

“I would have never thought such a giant animal could be so romantic.” Nicaise mentioned offhandedly.

“There are perks to dating giant animals, Laurent,” Ancel wiggled his eyebrows at him with a mischievous spark in the green eyes, “if you know what I mean.”

“You always talk about sex, you insatiable slu--”

The redhead omega gasped and put a hand over his chest, as if he got hurt. “I was going to say he could help him reach the top shelf! How dare you suggest otherwise!”

The four of them laughed at the lie and Laurent felt his shoulders relax. This, no matter how loud and obnoxious it became at times, was normal for them. 

He listened to them bicker for a while, sometimes adding his own scathing remarks which would probably deeply offend everyone who wasn’t friends with the blond. Among these people sarcasm was like a second language, necessary to maintain a proper communication.

Eventually, Aimeric stood up and clasped his hands to shut them up. “We’ve got to celebrate! I’m ordering champagne!”

“Yes, do that,” Ancel was the first one to approve, as was expected of him, “but please, for the love of Prada, do not order that cheap bottle of piss you had us drink on New Year’s.”

“It was a $100 champagne from-”

“As I said, cheap.”

“Order some snacks while you’re at it.” Nicaise yelled after Aimeric, who moved to grab his phone.

“What kind of snacks?”

“I don’t know, maybe shrimps?”

“You call shrimps a snack?” Laurent snorted and his cousin looked at him incredulously.

“Well, duh. They’re the best snacks. Besides,” the model added, “this is a special occasion and special occasions require special snacks.”

“Snacks that go with expensive champagne.” Ancel pointed out and the youngest high fived him.

The prince was forced to take a step back and not interfere in the impromptu party preparations. The other omegas sat him down on the couch when he tried to help and made him stay there under a threat of murdering him and committing treason as well as, according to Aimeric, an international conflict.

“The crown prince would alpha roar if his boo got sliced in half,” said Nicaise, taking the champagne flutes out and placing them on the table, “there’s no way he would keep quiet.”

It was no use to try convincing the nineteen year old that this was real life and not another round of Among Us.

When the four of them finally gathered back on the couches, Laurent took a moment for everything to truly sink in. The table was heavy with very expensive champagne and together with bowls full of shrimps and other seafood, it resembled a buffet set up at some banquet rather than a celebratory party thrown because one of them landed a boyfriend. The blond felt a bit embarrassed but his omega almost purred in delight. Not only had he found a nice alpha to date, but his closest omega friends decided it was worth throwing a party. Laurent’s more analytical side wanted to roll its eyes and tell his friends it was unnecessary and they should have the food and drinks sent to someone. He didn’t need or deserve all of this. He really didn’t.

But then he saw how happy for him the others were, their big smiles and sparkling eyes and suddenly all Laurent wanted to do was cuddle with them. 

Aimeric noticed the small smile on Laurent’s lips and squeezed the blond’s hand for a moment.

They spent the next few hours eating and drinking and it was perfect. At some point Laurent relaxed and nearly melted into the couch. He was warm, happy, his belly was full and head floated a bit. 

He laughed at some elementary school level joke made by Ancel and didn’t hear the door open, so he almost jumped when someone else stood by his couch. Almost. Laurent was too relaxed to give a proper reaction.

“What is going on, everyone?” Auguste picked up one of the last shrimps and put it in his mouth.

“We’re celebrating your brother finally about to get laid.” 

Auguste inhaled sharply and started coughing, his face resembling a tomato after a few short seconds. 

All alcohol evaporated from Laurent’s body and he jumped out of his seat. The omega patted his brother’s back, hoping Ancel’s careless words wouldn’t make him an only child and a new heir to the throne of Vere.

The alpha finally stopped coughing and took a deep breath. Laurent observed him closely as he wiped the lone tear from the corner of his eye. The omega waited for him to speak, hoping the near death experience made him forget what was said just a minute before.

“Who are you sleeping with?” Auguste grunted, his voice like a scratched CD.

“Nobody!” Laurent was quick to reassure his brother. “I swear!”

Nicaise murmured something to himself and Auguste’s head snapped in his direction.

“What did you say?”

“I said he’s not sleeping with anyone  _ yet _ .”

Laurent glared at his friends, trying his best to warn them to not say a damn thing, otherwise he would eviscerate them with his bare hands.

The alpha by his side stilled and turned to look at his baby brother. Laurent could tell the exact moment the realization fell on Auguste was when the older prince’s face turned from red to white in a Guinness Record worthy time.

The omega swallowed. “Auguste…”

“Please tell me it’s not what I think it is,” he pleaded.

Laurent’s jaw clenched. He felt helpless. There was a big difference between not telling Auguste and lying to him. He was able to keep certain things from his brother, but he had never lied to him before.

Auguste closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He rubbed the corners of his eyes, suddenly seeming as if he hadn’t slept in days. Laurent felt awful.

That was when the sound of Ancel’s laugh pierced through the heavy silence.

“Come on, your highness, he could’ve done worse for himself.” The redhead omega smirked. “You’re not going to cockblock your own brother, right?”

Ancel was lucky there was nothing sharp within Laurent’s reach.


End file.
